


Push Your Luck

by Amuerion



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Meihem - Freeform, Overwatch Joined Forces AU, Puns & Word Play
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-10-14 04:45:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 40,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10529217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amuerion/pseuds/Amuerion
Summary: For a felt eternity, no chance has come about for them to spend time together outside of their missions. Junkrat thus wishes to use a day off all the more, in order to give Mei a treat with surprises of many kinds. However, an unintentionally explosive delicacy is only an initial omen, indicating that none of his intentions can be carried through as planned. In the fragments of chaos, they not only discover scores to settle and old concerns – but also new hopes.





	1. Spare Time Planning with Pirates

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Requiem Owl](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Requiem+Owl).



> Dear readers, 
> 
> welcome and thank you for stopping by! 
> 
> Before the story begins, there are a few notes I would like to share with you:  
> ° OW Characters are tagged in the order of their appearance in the story.  
> ° There are also a few more official OW characters that are mentioned, but only parts of the cast that get to talk and interact with the characters of focus, Mei and Junkrat, are tagged.  
> ° Minor OC appearances are going to occur in a few chapters. However, these are always bound to their situational context only.  
> ° While several of the characters tagged can be found in many friendly relations with one another throughout the story, it will remain meihem-centric.  
> ° The tag "Overwatch Joined Forces AU" refers to an Alternative Universe in which some of the characters or groups of characters that might have never worked together before in the canon world of OW are teaming up for a shared cause in the story.  
> ° This story is definitely going to be finished and will consist of nine chapters. The update schedule striven for is every one to one and a half weeks.  
> ° Comments - no matter if big or small, no matter if they address things you enjoyed or constructive improvement suggestions - are always greatly appreciated! If you'd like to leave them here for me to see, I'd love to hear about your thoughts and perhaps even effectively make use of the things I learn from it - because learning never stops!  
> ° Mei and Junkrat share a mastery of absolutely horrible puns and they are not afraid to use it - you have been warned. 
> 
> Special Thanks go out to:
> 
> ° _Requiem Owl_ : Thank you for making this happen with your wish for a meihem-centric story! It certainly has fueled my motivation to write quite a couple more to come in the future. Thank you just as much for your patience and I hope you'll have fun reading the story as much as I had fun writing it!
> 
> ° _Phoenix_Fairy _: Who shall be awarded with Play of the Game as the beta-reader that most fanfic writers dream of. Thank you so much for your helpful, inspiring and thorough feedback!__

It was a venture with no going back. She was aware of that, as the droning of the old bus engine sent her on her way. Mei took a look around on the double-decker’s second floor. From her window’s view, she could see the teeming sleet descend upon the heads that began to bustle on the streets of King’s Row. She was in luck to escape the lunch break tumult at the very last second, though.

Again and again the watchful climatologist turned her head to the left and right in front of the window glass. It was assurance which she hoped to gain from her reflection. Assurance that nobody would be able to discover her little secrets. Both of them had their own way of making themselves noticeable, however. Like tiny chimes, they jingled in her ears, while she tapped against her streaks of hair on each side. Indeed. They were still there. This sudden twinge of pain she felt should pass soon, or at least that was what one had tried to assure her of, before she had stormed out of the salon.

But from one second to another, Mei drew the attention of all fellow passengers to herself. Such an alarming sight made her gasp for breath. As if the delay of their departure through her ploughing into the bus at the last moment were not annoyance enough, almost everyone seemed to have figured out by now that a stowaway – and an extremely unwelcome one at that – was located in Mei’s bag. This well-hidden passenger in particular, inside its own means of transport, had obtained a perfect view on the surprise - and therefore expressed its liking of what it sighted from below with friendly whistling.

“Snowball, you know exactly how dangerous this is!” Mei hissed under her breath, right through her teeth.

Her little invention, which she pushed further down into the bag again with haste, wasn’t only a weather-modification drone. Throughout the years, Snowball had become a loyal companion and friend for Mei. The two of them looked out for one another like siblings. With its glowing, blue eyes, Snowball gazed up at her through the darkness and seemed to let out an apologetic sigh.

Its protector was seized by this sadness right away. Pretending to search for something at the bottom of what she inspected, Mei’s face came as close to Snowball as possible. She could not let those angry stares around her notice that their cause of suspicion had just started an emotionally-loaded conversation - with a sports bag of all things.

“Look, I can’t just let you out of there that easily. To me, that’s not all that great either, but you must understand this. It only happens for your own good,” she reminded her friend. “These people don’t care, whether you can be considered an Omnic or not. As long as you aren’t human, you, well, at least for the vast majority of people, don’t belong here on the surface! I don’t want to bring you back home in smithereens - if possible. We only have to make it to the other side. Then you can tear around as much as you want!”

Big question marks flashed up on Snowball’s screen. _”Make it to the other side? Today? But why should Mei wish to go to work, when there was nothing that needed to be taken care of for once?”_ it thought to itself.

Days off were indeed as good as unthinkable for Overwatch recruits. After all, evil would always win somewhere out there, the moment heroes decided to back down. For today; though, there were no escort missions, securing of cities, storming manoeuvres for terrorist bases or discussions of world-improving inventions scheduled whatsoever. That was more than unspectacular for someone like Mei. The term ‘spare time’ had been as good as extinct in her vocabulary for ages anyhow, because of its insufficient use. Whenever duty should not call her to several places in the world, she even turned her home into a workplace, if only to take care of ten other things for every single task she completed.

_”Maybe it’s exactly that,”_ Snowball thought to itself with a surprised “Oh?”.

Perhaps it was only a quick side-trip to secure a few documents and some working material. Either that or an unexpected cry for help had reached their crew nevertheless.

In fact, there was a sudden message that Mei had received out of the blue this morning, but it gave her the chance to get herself into something new. She listened to the voicemail through the headphones of her communicator for the fourth time by now:

_|||…Mei? Mei! Yer hearin’ me fair ‘nough, Snowflake? |||_

_||| I beg yer pardon, I s’pose this could come over to ya way more fragmented than it actually is. Sure as heck ain’t all that used to communication devices no more, ‘specially not those that don’t fall apart for a change, as soon as ya give ‘em the evil eye, ahahahahaha! Quite a busy bee potterin’ about again, ain’tja? Or did I wake you from yer sleep just now? Anyhoo, there’s nobody on our list needin’ some fire beneath their four letters today, roight? Not a single missions to attend to… That’s why I pondered a lil bit…and waited… Looks like we can make of it whatever we please. A couple of things came to mind…and I’d like you to keep me company, since all of ‘em have somethin’ to do with you…well…sorta kinda, kinda sorta…and as ideas, they’d only be half as great without ya… Could turn out to be really excitin’…ehm…well y’know… I’m…really excited…eheh… |||_

_||| B-but fear not! It’s nothing like ”Surprise, Mei! Just burned down the Crew Observatory and you help me make a clean sweep!”, o-or “Mei, I’m payin’ some Los Muertos blokes a visit and can’t leave anytime soon. PS: Better bring a bunch of large banknotes!” Nah… It’s meant to be small but mighty…at least I hope so. |||_

_||| So, my suggestion for today: Why don’tja come to the base to meet me in the swarm hall? Also, survival specialist equipment won’t be necessary. Neither will be big preparations – nor special dressing up. Just come over here feelin’ fine and take pot luck! Simply… how you’d behave, if ya grant yerself a Me-Day. Would be bombastic if you could make it, even fantastic to see ya here in the early afternoon – but no worries! I’ll keep waitin’ here…would be glad to see you. Take it easy! |||_

\----------

At the same time, preparations for Mei’s arrival in the hero association’s secret base ran at full blast. Hissing steam shot out of the gurgling wall pipes in the attic, which Jamison Fawkes had dubbed _’The Rathole’_ . Since the Australian master of explosives and his accomplice had found new work as well as a new hideout in this affiliation of heroic oddities, this was where he lived.

Where once smaller planes had been taken care of for further uses many years ago, only piles of clutter from better times could be found nowadays. It was just the right environment for the junker to feel at home. His hard renewal works had turned the range of clutter mountains into a mixture of a work shop, a dump for procuring material and a shabby chic penthouse apartment by now. Such an accomplishment was definitely nothing to sneeze at.

In his self-built washing tub construction, Jamison poured another bucket of warm water over his shoulders with a content sigh. Once somebody had begun to send out an intense, vinegary body odour all by themselves; it was about time that this came to be, too. The junker was rather used to crumbling away many of his thick layers of dirt with ease – but such a procedure was a lot more tiresome than an ordinary bath.

He thus was busy breaking the crust canyon on his back apart with a scrubbing brush in his left hand, while he took care of the front with a washcloth stuck to what had remained of his right arm.

Suddenly, almost a quarter ton of sincere reliability stumbled into the room.

“Oh, crud. How I hate that thing!” the sturdy bloke fumed at the teleporter behind him, once he tumbled onto the creaking floorboards with a loud bang. The more often he had to move around the base with this system’s help, the more he longed for the possibility of squeezing himself into an old-fashioned and often cursed lift again.

Furthermore, Jamison’s way to describe his thoughts on traveling from one teleporter to another had made the entire thing anything but enjoyable for this guy. It seemed as if one was slowly pulled upwards by a string attached to their head, then kneaded together like tortellini and thrown forward with a powerful momentum, so that the centrifugal force still seemed to let one swing along on arrival, despite everything being together and in place again. Briefly worded: One turned into a human frisbee for less than two seconds – only under nastier circumstances.

There was no need to look in the visitor’s direction. With such an entrance, Jamison already knew what was happening: “Open the gates, open the doors, an outie enters first! Now I can say, without a doubt, a _Roadhog_ just traversed!”

“Hilarious, ‘Rat,” his loyal bodyguard replied with a sarcastic snort. “Almost forgot to laugh. What’s cooking? Hatchin’ anything for today with that…’gunpowder-flavoured genius’ o’ yours?“ Roadhog curled his middle and index fingers, in order to give his uttered praise the double quotes he thought it deserved.

At that however, his employer pushed the shower curtain, which he had made from an old plane cover, aside with a strong pull and was smitten with amazement. Jamison could not remember, by any stretch of his imagination, just how long it had been since he had seen Roadie make such an outstanding effort with one of his disguises. His gas mask lay hidden in a giant shark head, whose remaining skin hung over his back like a cloak. The half of a treasure chest and a steering wheel had been turned into parts of armour and his pants were held together by ropes and fishing nets. One could formally sense the bleak wind and salty air in his presence – almost as if he had been born on the high seas. Shouldering his large anchor and laying one of his hands onto his hips with proud composure, he now gazed down at Junkrat through his safety goggles, waiting patiently for an answer.

Full of curiosity, Junkrat couldn’t help but grin and answer the question with a counter question: “Shouldn’t I be the one to ask you that, ye big lug? Gosh, jus’ look at ya!” His eyes widened, as he tried to portray Roadhog’s impressive getup from afar, by an encouraging gesture of his hand. “We barely dare to go for _yet another_ brand-new start, and the first thing you mean to do is freebootin’! Where in the world are you headed, clothed like that?”

“To ‘The Blazing Roebuck’,” the tubby companion spoke, his head held high and savouring this answer on his tongue with relish.

Junkrat could only croak out a mocking “ _Gesundheit!_ ” in return and leaned his chin on his upper arms, which rested on the edge of the washing tub.

“Ya care for a cuppa? Made another decent load o’ coffee just a couple minutes ago, mate. It’s still nice and hot! Smoky and dark – ‘Xcactly the way yer likin’ it. Go for it! Make yerself comfortable over there! Ye don’t havta stand around the whole time,” with a warm smile, Junkrat waved him back into the kitchen area. It was an offering that Roadhog did not have to think about twice.

Once he had sunk down into the worn out couch and lifted up his gas mask a bit, in order to test the aroma, a smirk came over the face of the terrifying colossus. He gave his thanks for the treat and took a good sip right away.

“No worries, Mako, no worries,” the head of the holehold was pleased with what he saw; but Jamison took his friend by surprise, once he mimiced a drum roll with his hand. “Roight! Now I’ve gotcha just where I wanted you! Story time, c’mon!”

“Well then,” the bodyguard took a deep breath and cleared the way for an explanation by the help of a strong cough. Roadie could not help but let out a wheezing laugh though, when Junkrat assured him to be all ears, a sponge being pressed against them from behind. “The Roebuck wasn’t my idea, ‘Rat. More or less a spontaneous invitation. S’already old hat for the cobbers. They’re kinda….regulars of the place, you could say.“

“Yer hintin’ at Torbjörn and Reinhardt, am I roight?” Junkrat asked, while he attended to the soot in his hair. “Y’know…that crabbed dwarf and the crusader with his prehistoric taste in music? That comedy duo? So...they took a pity on ya and finally deliver you from _boar_ dom?”

As quickly as he had provoked him, Jamison had almost entirely disappeared in the water. He could see from afar how the giant on the couch leaned back, cocking his head. Junkrat did not even have to see the face behind that mask. The tension in the air was hint enough for him to guess that Mako had raised a brow behind it to give him a piercing look. Jamison knew gestures of caution like these for going too far for many years now. They had never lost steam to this day – much to the bodyguard’s amusement.

“’Xcactly,” Roadhog continued in a calm tone, “A pirate pub... That’s what it is, all in all. Seems to be the raddest spot in this corner of the Earth…at least ‘cording to them. Can only rely on their description. S’all second-hand. Reels me in magically, though…what’s known about it, I mean. S’got something timeless for the two of ‘em. They wanna make me a part of it now.”

Junkrat knew his bodyguard far too well to not notice the steadily-growing anticipation. He encouraged Roadie to keep talking, while he took care of his foot, its toes sticking out between the crumbs like volcanoes in front of a black, sandy shore: “C’mon, c’mon, more! There must be more! What brings ya there in particular?” 

“Better question: Where do I start regardin’ that?” Mako chortled and paused for a moment. “A number of things. A number of things that I believed to never catch sight of again…”

Leaning his chin on his hand, Junkrat smiled only to himself, as an entirely different, much livelier world slowly opened itself up in front of his inner eye while listening. It came to him in bits and pieces through Roadhog: Boarding a former ship, a splendid overseas wine, people knowing how to cook an alright fish for a change, atmosphere, cheer and dance like a storm on deck, wrangling in good spirits, suiting music. He had not exaggerated things at all. There were, in fact, a number of things that came together.

It was Jamison, who hit the nail right on the head for Mako in all of a sudden: “…Yer having an immense _longin’_ for it, don’tja?”

Everything fell silent in ’The Rathole’ for a while. Both junkers looked down into the watery darkness beneath them, their stings of conscience showing in their heavy-hearted smiles.

Although unpleasant circumstances had brought Junkrat and Roadhog together, it seemed impossible for the former to imagine his life without the latter. Nevertheless, Jamison was fully aware that Roadie had already been forced to give up on an entire life – and that even long before his own life could begin – in the place of their first meeting. There were so many things, so many feelings which he could simply not get his head around in comparison with his earnest friend. He would also never be able to do so, unless Mako had a chance to step back into his old life. Out of self-protection, Roadhog did not talk about himself all too often – Jamison knew that much. The uncertainty, whether he was able to create such an irreplaceable treasure for himself though, was what gave Junkrat a queasy feeling.

Eventually, Jamison started to address this again, since his discussion partner kept quiet. No answer was also an answer after all: “Grand…Sure’s grand havin’ something like that…” He paused for a moment and looked away, unsure about how to continue. Mako did not take his eyes of him, but was all the more surprised to see that this matter made his friend wish to proceed with caution. He certainly could not find a single trace of ill intent on Jamison’s face, once he made eye contact again. “Returning to a certain place and bein’ able to relive all those sweet moments... Knowin’ ya belong somewhere… I’m happy for ya! Seriously, I’m glad yer gettin’ the chance. Make the most of it, mate! Ya better ain’t stoppin’ yerself from enjoying this to the fullest – sure thing!”

“Well, it ain’t all that self-evident,” Roadhog shrugged. “No matter what’s new for us here…you’re still my boss. I’ll do my utmost to be on help with hand and advice for you, whenever you need it.”

“That’s what makes us a _team_ , Roadie,“ Jamison replied, giving his friend a supportive nod. “A job well-done ain’t where it stops for us, ya hear? We both wanna make somethin’ decent outta the lil time we have here and show those drongos how the cat jumps! It’s all mutual. So, the least I can do for ya is to let you enjoy the times, in which we don’t havta put our lives on the line for a change. Ye saved me often enough to ring a bell or two in me head. I wanna gain the most I could possibly get from it!”

Junkrat could hear a quiet laugh, right before Roadhog put on his gas mask properly. The giant did not expect this kind of answer. He was glad to see that Jamison seemed to keep maturing over their time in this base. With an attentive eye kept on him, Mako rose up to help the amputee out of the washtub, but Junkrat stopped him with a way of his hand. He winked at him, shut the curtain and pulled himself onto a nearby stool to put on his prosthetics.

He had barely returned, wrapped in a large towel that, along with a belt, had to do as a bath robe, when Roadhog started to call on his courage: “Again... What do _you_ plan to do today?”

Jamison held his breath and froze on the spot. There was no way to distract himself from what he hoped for so much now. It was not a big secret that Roadhog preferred things to be precise.

In spite of that, Junkrat still tried to beat around the bush: “Oh...y’know that by now... All sorts of things! The usual...yeah, the usual... Gotta bunch of bombastic ideas all rushin’ about in the back of me head!”

“ _My condolences_ , should those turn out to be just as ‘bombastic ideas’ as your canned pizza,” Roadhog threw his dry sarcasm back at him.

Feeling offended, Jamison let out a loud gasp: “Oi! Nothing against me revolutionary preservation methods, okay? That is a way too small stunt to pull for yers truly anyways!”

“Is it now?” Roadie challenged him and brought some order into the mess on Junkrat’s table. “Means this goes towards ‘locking out Your Royal Highness’, then? Outta their own palace? Such hard work and bossin’ around o’ guards - only for a decent lunch?”

“Now, now, what do I have to say for meself? It jus’ smelled far too tempting, when we bombed down through those palace gardens!” quilty as charged, Jamison only shrugged his shoulders. “After all, the cops had better things to do than catchin’ up to us and payin’ us a visit. Surviving that hail of bicycles for instance and fishin’ their remains outta the canals. Was confetti of a different kind, flyin’ outta that parkin’ lot that day. Or they had trouble not goin’ for a spin at full throttle on a year’s supply of peppermint beach-wear with their patrol car.”

Junkrat’s grin became all the broader, as soon as he saw Roadhog trying to choke his laughter with all his might. The bomber provoked him even further, by whistling and yelling as loud as he could: “I ain’t got the faintest idea who pushed down those trucks! Definitely not! By all means, the Netherlands were rad!”

They stood right next to each other, hooting with laughter and wallowing in memories. Even digressing could not help Jamison escape the inevitable, however.

He was so flustered that he almost tore his sponge in two while wringing it out: “Oh well... Today...it won’t be that turbulent either. I...didn’t get invited, but I...I _have_... invited someone.”

“My, My!”

“I...” Junkrat bit his lip and looked to the side, massaging the back of his neck. “I jus’ meant to make someone happy, Roadie. Thought it all through so far, but it rises and falls with puttin’ me thinking into effect. I decided on impulse to...” the noisy troublemaker turned into an abrupt mumbler, hoping his friend would not decide to press on the matter any further, “...spend the day with Mei.”

“ _Mei_ ,” Roadhog enjoyed saying her name. There he found his secret, long-harboured suspicion confirmed. It cracked him up to see how that name alone was enough to make his discussion partner feel antsy, because Jamison knew that Roadie’s taunting grin behind the mask was a given right now.

That was the second time Roadhog caught himself savouring something on his tongue with relish - and yet there also was a well-intended concern in the way he uttered it.

On the one hand, Roadhog knew, even without explicit confessions, that Junkrat cared for Mei a lot. She had intrigued him since their first accidental encounter. It gave Jamison great pleasure to work with her and he admired her in all the things that she considered to go without saying. Mako himself had experienced Mei as a rather down-to-earth, attentive, and kindhearted person since then - that she was a rarity amid the people, despite all the dire blows of fate she had faced, could not be denied. Should she actually agree to establishing close ties with Junkrat, Roadhog believed, with a clear conscience, that the two of them would come through for one another and take care of each other quite well - just as his humble self would plan to do it for both of them in Junkrat’s name.

On the other hand, the troubling side of this circumstance came into addition. _Should_ she agree to it. As attentive and kind-hearted as Mei was, she could be just as distanced and strict in equal measure. Roadhog understood her extra precaution when it came to gaining trust in others. They both had been severly disappointed, abused and betrayed all too often. Some of the emitted vibes that Mei sensed through the people around her were better than others - and the chaotic force stemming from Junkrat was something that she treated with extreme caution. She did not wish to regret blindly trusting someone who might just considered their opportunistic chances and made them a tool to reach success, instead of proving a genuine interest in a strong bond and life-enriching possibilities.

All good things take their time...but what if those ‘good things’ were not what Junkrat hoped for? To appreciate someone immensely could give said person full power to destroy the other one from the inside without consideration - as soon as one decided to make themselves depend entirely on their highly esteemed other. A horrible knowledge within the family circle that Roadhog, by all means, did not wish to experience firsthand. If there had been something that his hardships in the wasteland had taught him; however, it was that there was nothing worse than people dictating other peoples' lives through and through. Thus, Junkrat’s bodyguard left it up to his friend to gain experiences of his own and hoped for the best.

“...For real? That’s all ye gotta say ‘bout that?” Jamison dragged him out of his thoughts by force, jumping around. “C’mon, Roadie! Help a cornered rat out, will ya? Don’tja see that I’m under pressure? This whole waitin’ around makes me rotate, it makes me _rotate_ , I tell you! Won’t be long and she could show up here any minute now... Oh, if I ever needed some decent weaponry in terms of advice, this would be the perfect time for it!”

Since Roadhog only shook his head with laughter; as a result, instead of answering him, Junkrat grabbed one of Roadie’s massive hands and pulled the giant further down to him: “Blimey, Hog! Wouldja get a broad hint, if it smacked ya roight across the head?”

“How can I be of any assistance, you fierce chap?” He just asked. “Care for another distracting noise exposure? You’re fulfilling that task just splendid yourself!” Junkrat had teased Roadhog often enough. Now, it was his turn to have the bomber on the hook.

“Cut it out, mate!” The bomber’s face became all the more desperate the longer their talk dragged on. “Mako... The Hogster... The behemoth on the bike... Ye majestic boar!”

“Good grief, Jamison, you’re blowin’ this _way_ outta proportion...” Roadhog rolled his eyes with a deep sigh.

“I’m dead serious, though, I swear! I’m so overwrought,” Jamison reaffirmed several times with folded hands. “What I could use is some diamond-hard pig wisdom!”

“Pah! Is that so?” casting a large shadow, Mako leaned over him with crossed arms. “What’s there to ask? More important would be what type of answer yer lookin’ for. Will a polite one do? Or does it _have_ to be honest?”

Almost even to an explosion, Jamison puffed up his cheeks and releaed the air with a loud bang, while he let himself fall onto his revolving chair, his eyes wide open: “Yer frazzlin’ me out... Yer frazzlin’ me out, y’know that? Listen...This is the first time in heaven knows how long that we don’t havta take care of anythin’...and although things didn’t always run all that smooth between us, she tried more an’ more to be nice to me. She doesn’t havta do that. There are a bunch of things that Mei doesn’t havta do, but still goes through with anyway,” he was turning to and fro on his chair. “I stopped countin’ how often she carries the entire team and brings down twice the duties she should fulfil on herself, while she’s still got a friendly ear anytime - for everyone.”

“True, true...” Roadhog nodded.

“Nobody comes up with the idea of thanking her properly for it however, which is what I’m gonna change today!” Jamison snipped his fingers. “I wanna help providin’ her a day that she’ll never forget, yeah, maybe even wantsta repeat! She deserves havin’ a good time for a change... I’ve got a quite ambitious master plan for it, but not the faintest idea, whether I can accomplish it all... There’s one thing I know for sure, though: If things don’t proceed soon, this excitement’s gonna do me in!”

With a long, muttering “Hm...”, Roadhog scratched his chin and thought it over. The longer he remained like this, the more Jamison leaned himself forward, until his head almost arrived somewhere between his knees. Finally, Mako released him: “Again: Polite answer or honest answer?”

“Polite answer, mate. Savin’ the heavy stuff for last!”

“Good... To put it politely, maybe...you shouldn’t lose your head - not before she’s comin’ anyhow. Everything’s possible...perhaps even that she won’t show up at all.”

“... **Wow**...Roadie,” nothing moved in Junkrat’s face, but his voice flared up. “That’s...so heartenin’ and not alarming at all - definitely not!”

“It’s _healthy_ ,” his bodyguard said, ruthlessly candid with a cynical grin behind his mask. “Maybe the honest answer will appeal to ya: You’re doin’ yourself a massive favour, by going into this with no expectations. None of any kind whatsoever. On no account. Zero. The higher your aims, the nastier your fall, should ya trip over.”

“But mate, how’s one s’posed to go far without even lookin’ far _ahead_?”

Mako clapped his hands. This was the objection he had been waiting for: “Good question. Try it...wi-”

“With an anecdote of the sea, roight, roight, sure. Why should it be anythin’ else?” Junkrat interuppted him, throwing his arms into the air with anger. “How does it happen that yer usually considerin’ yerself too good for any word there is, but go for fryin’ me brain with excessive riddles, once I actually want ya to be on point?”

“Because to notice it, the penny has to be dropped. Not slid into someone’s pants pocket... Simple ‘nough?” Roadhog explained, leaving Junkrat grumbling to himself, until he finally went quiet and focused.

Jamison had no other choice than making sense of it on his own. That was exactly why he hated Roadhog’s anecdotes like poison, no matter how incredibly rare they were. Listening to them would lead him anywhere but on the right track. He could never find it on time, because these stories always had a vague ending - and a well-hidden twist.

Roadhog, not letting himself get worked up over Junkrat’s stony-faced expression, went for it: “Two fishers go to sea at the same time, doing their job... One of the two intends to sail far away to catch a giant marlin... The other one however set his sights on returning home with at least a single fish. The day goes by. Both of them pull something into their boats... As the sun goes down, they come together and realize that the first fisher caught thrice as many fish as the second... Now, you tell me, Jamison: Who of the two is the _happier_ fisher?”

There was no time for an answer, though. In a flash, yet another guest jumped into ‘The Rathole’ through the teleporter - actually two at a time. Reinhardt and Torbjörn soon took shape in their pirate attire. The former was huge, bearded and sturdy, with a single, watchful eye. The latter was smaller and seemed all the grouchier. His beard came all the way down to his belly, while he barely reached up to Reinhardt’s knees. They argued to settle who the actual captain for this expedition should be.

“You can bet your hammer on it, old chap!” Torbjörn yelled, clenching his fist with rage. “I shall present you a cannon fire that will finally make you hear something again in your old age!”

Such hot tempered pledges left Reinhardt cold: “Hach! You wanna threaten me? A ship’s kobold, fitting into a handbag? You know vat? I’d be on my guard, if I vere you, so you don’t get stuck in a wine barrel on your way to zee battlefield! Then, zey would unload you in someplace where ze dogs bark with zeir tails und for you to be seen neffermore!”

“Torbjörn, Reinhardt, save that for the mast match over there!” Roadhog advised them, now joining his company for the day. “You should know best, Rein: ‘ _Ewwri seckond is a hailait!_ ’”

The German, almost being on par to the giant’s size, was overjoyed: “Mako, ahoi! Jetzetle! We found you at last. You almost made us zink you’d sail away vithout us. Let’s get going, should you’fe got effrything!”

“What about that chum of yours though, you old dugong?” the Swede invited Junkrat, still dressed in his pseudo bath robe, pointing his hook hand at him. “Doesn’t it pull you on board with us, Jamison, me lad? You don’t wish to put up with the resentment of the other crews and remain a landlubber, instead?”

Jamison, with his chin up and his chest out, only replied: “Pardon, ye oldies, I’ll allow meself some correction: I’m more of a _sewer_ lubber. I’ve got best expertise when it comes to tunnel systems of all kinds. There’s a different land I’ve got in sight for now!”

Slapping his knee, Torbjörn guffawed: “Wonderful! I like you, young chap! I guess that means we’re good to go, everyone. We shall abduct your best steersman for today. But be sure of it: We’ll bring him home safe and sound - and a few gold-filled treasure chests heavier!”

“A promise that couldn’t possibly sound any better, ol’ trooper!” Junkrat turned away from him with a grin, in order to dismiss Roadhog with the croaking voice of an old battle-axe in good fun. “Roigh then, off ya go, you rancid fossil! Ye better get back here, once the clock strikes ten, and kindly behave yerself! Always look both ways, eat yer veggies and don’t talk to strangers - no matter if they wanna lead ya to lil piggies or not. Especially those who offer guinea pigs are rather shady creatures-”

“Come back in all your three pieces, ya hear? Take care, you ol’ foldin’ shovel, and stay out of trouble! No games of ‘Throw the Log’ on high car brigdes. No dynamite experiments on public comfort stations. Got it? I don’t wanna pick you two up in the morning, figurin’ out ya stayed the night with the cops!”

With a final “Likewise!” on Jamison’s side, Roadhog put Junkrat in a headlog and noogied the remains of his hair into a mess, while both of them shared a heartfelt laugh.

Thus, the three pirates began their plunder quest, shouting “Arrr, maties!” at the top of their voices, as they stepped through the teleporter. Jamison could only smirk and shook his head. He was certain of it. Those three were made for one another, when it came to whooping it up, until they lost their heads. However, he would lose his, too, if he did not hurry up. A quick jump into pants and boot later, he reached for a fully-packed bag in a chest and took it with him. There were two essential keys to his success, waiting for him on the way down, because Junkrat belonged to a terrific trio of his own.


	2. Best Intentions and Piled Up Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,
> 
> before the story continues, I would like to thank everyone of you for over 100 hits in less than a week and all your feedback in kudos and comments alike! 
> 
> You won't believe how happy it makes me to know that so many of you enjoyed the introductory chapter and are interested in reading the story, already!
> 
> Regarding Notes and Special Thanks on the story, a collection of all the ones applying to it in its entirety can be found before Ch. 1. So far, there are no further additions to be made. 
> 
> I hope you'll get to enjoy reading, keep creating and have a great start into the new week soon, everybody!  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Junkrat bumped into them right in front of the crew canteen. A loud, long-drawn-out “Aye!” echoed through the corridors, once Hana and Lúcio went into a huddle with him. Such a sight was heart-balm to the junker, because he had found sincere and rather understanding friends in theses two. One could rely on them to be up for all sorts of fun and tackling every obstacle on the road of life together. Similar to Jamison, they depended on mastering clever disguises – although for plenty more positive reasons.

Hana was rather known professionally as D.Va. She had been a pro-gamer by occupation, before she became one of the South Korean Meka military’s front runners. With her legendary reaction times and natural heroism, she also had gotten interesting for an affiliation with Overwatch in a minimum of time. However, reasons to be nervous in Hana’s presence were non-existent for Junkrat. The moment he had told her that Meka duels were an as equally-treasured form of entertainment in Junkertown as for her back home; the two of them had discussions round-the-clock and got along incredibly well with one another, almost as if they had grown up together.

In contrast, Lúcio was a DJ working with light science who constructed his music and stage programmes all first-hand. By the help of his penetrating power, he had rebelled against the oppression of the architects’ organisation Vishkar - to great success. Nowadays, he traveled around the world with his projects, in hopes of reuniting a world in danger of breaking apart and coming to the aid of all the invisible heroes amid the masses.

Once these global superstars thus came together in the re-established heroes’ affiliation, due to their outstanding accomplishments, they soon met the two junkers as new recruits, as well. Hana and Lúcio had agreed to not assess them in regards to their past, but in regards to their present approaches when it came to this – because _all_ of them had come here to create something new and better. It was this very basis that kept them close together with Junkrat and made them inseparable in the long run.

“Jamie! Come here, you sparkler, lemme give you a hug!“ Hana raised herself on tiptoes and gave the junker a squeeze. He yanked her up on the spot and a competition for the strongest embrace began.

Feeling flattered, he let her down again and giggled: “You won’t believe how glad I am to see ya! Well then? What’s happenin’?”

“ **Chance Time!** That’s what’s up!” she yelled, rummaging in something that she carried on her back. “What are you waiting for? Close your eyes and open your hands!”

Without hesitation, Jamison did as he was told. His friend could not help but strike up a little surprise melody out of one of her favourite video games. Junkrat felt something small and edged slide into his hand very slowly. A resounding “Ta-dah!” had barely made it out of Hana’s mouth, when he opened his eyes and gasped for air. Much to the entertainment of his friends, he started dancing with joy, almost dropping the surprise as a result.

“You made it…You really made it! It’s really there – and most definitely sens _case_ tional!” Jamison, still in disbelief about his luck, could not stop himself from punning any longer.

While his eyes nearly popped out of his head from taking a closer look at the little box, D.Va only snipped her fingers and gave him a confident smirk: “Nonsense! What are friends for? It’s nothing; better said nothing more than a thank-you for your remarkable negotiation skills that almost doubled the amount of my retro treasures. If you like it, I’ve done my job properly, I guess.”

She had succeeded in provoking him. The presentee puffed back at her: „Like it? _Like it?_ What kind of expression is that - _blown away_ , that nails it! Since you’ve shown me the box for yer very first game, I knew for sure: I wanted to have somethin’ just like that, once I get to make her a gift…and now it’s here. It’s finally here!”

However, his friends did not say a word, trying their hardest not to be pulled into his immense euphoria, too. It seemed to have an almost contagious impact.

“Such a pretty shade of blue…all those flowers and stones on it are so shiny,” Junkrat continued, stroking his fingers over the object from all sides, “almost makes ye think yer goin’ blind, shouldja stare at it for too long. Ah! Fantastic! Makes ye wonder, whether it could’ve been stolen roight outta one of her drawers. Sure suits her, even better than a bottle full of wasps suits the briefcase of a rabble-rouser.”

D.Va shook her head in surprise. She wondered where that bizarre comparison came from in all of a sudden. Lúcio could only exchange looks with her either, before Junkrat stepped closer to her for a vigorous handshake: “Cheers, Hana, cheers! Hooly dooly, shall I dare open it?“

Both of them just gave him a smile and a reassuring nod. The moment Jamison’s fingertips opened the little treasure chest with caution, fireworks seemed to light up in his eyes. He was unable to close his mouth. Especially not once he held its content in his hands. It had become all the more beautiful with its outer packing, this small gesture of high value.

He had found it, while roaming around at a junk market in the London’s historic district. Somebody had offered it for a song there, because they considered it to be anything but good-looking and in working order – a description that seemed kind of familiar to him. On closer inspection, though, the demolition expert had figured out that the watch just had not been handled with enough care.

The junker had gotten to work right away, in order to make this multi-talent, filled with distance measuring tools, time zone comparisons, sea level graphs, thermometers, humidity determiners, sun altitude locators and much more fully operational again. He even had made it shock-resistant and given it a new appearance in ice blue with snowflake engravings.

Jamison put it back into its safe keeping, beaming with pride. It had transformed and surpassed all expectations, thanks to his help. Turning an ‘impossible’ into an ‘ _I’m possible_ ’ – that was his doing. If he was completely honest with himself, he thought that there was no better gift for someone who placed that much value on being good with time management and caring for the environment like Mei.

“That’s worth showin’, indeed… Roight, it’s all there then. Everything ‘cept for…’cept for…oh great…everything ‘cept for…” Junkrat scratched the bald spot on his head in annoyance, hoping to refresh his memory. The more he pondered, the more he felt ashamed that - especially on the day where everything _had_ to work out – some things just slipped his mind.

Lúcio knew how to help him along, though. That Jamison did not like prompting of solutions, as long as he did not ask for it explicitly, was something that his pal had figured out rather quick. Thus, Lúcio simply raised and eyebrow, trying to get the junker’s attention with a bunch of colourful shopping bags, as he swung them in his hand at a slow, nearly hypnotic, pace.

This trick proved to be efficient. Jamison clapped his hands, pointing at the obvious: “Oh! I can’t believe this almost escaped me! Did ye get everything standin’ on that list, Lú?”

“All of it and even more,” Lúcio sang in response.

“Oh DJ, me DJ!” bursting with joy, the junker flung his arms around his friend’s neck at once, whereupon Lúcio, almost crushed by appreciation, only giggled and gave Junkrat encouraging pats on the back.

“Slow down, brother. You can’t have ‘em all,” Lú explained, as soon as Jamison had calmed down. “Regarding those booty bags-“

“I **love** the fact that ye took the term ‘booty bags’ into yer vocab, mate,” once Junkrat had interrupted him, the three of them roared with laughter. “Anyhoo, what didja mean to say?”

Lúcio started over: „Regarding those booty bags, it’s more like this: I gotta vamoose with a couple of ‘em, I’m afraid, cuz they secure our survival for the next forty-eight hours,” he gave Hana a nod and held a few of the bags out to Junkrat, “Those two however should be crammed full of the stuff you’ve been asking for, Jamie.”

So, the bags were reassigned to their rightful owners. Also here Junkrat convinced himself of the content and could hardly believe his luck: “Thanks again, you two…I really owe ya one!”

„Oh, Jamie. There are certain favours you just don’t have to return,” D.Va stopped him with a well-meant wave of her hand, “Pull through, do your thing and pass with flying colours! That’ll be good enough for today. Besides, we sadly don’t have that much time to discuss this further.”

„Why, I’ll be damned! Ye seriously organized another ’helping-the-helpers-project’ on yer day off, now didn’t ya?”

Lúcio could tell his friend with pride that this was indeed the case. He and D.Va, as many a time before, had come together to host a charity stream for the ‘Heart’s Content Foundation’. For taking on such a task as a team, the stream was going to be twice as long this time. Like millions of others, however, Lúcio was a big fan of the game that Hana had suggested for it. Jamison strained his ears the moment Hana began explaining the plan to him.

Her enthusiasm for video games and what some people decided to make out of them fascinated Junkrat. Witnessing your own learning curve, the action, discovering secrets, enjoying worlds within worlds and doing justice to any challenge over the course of time – he enjoyed all of this with every chance of learning from D.Va behind the controller. Hana could deny just as little that she was happy for anyone she was able to see thriving on video games right from the beginning, because of her own devotion to them.

It was not any different today, while she intrigued him with the stream game’s description. They were about to play a rhythm-based platformer with bullet hell sequences. The more competent the job was done, the more difficult, but also more satisfying, the levels became in their music, flow and detail. For that reason alone, Lúcio seemed like a godsend already. On top of that, one could engage in adventure through several worlds with countless characters, presenting their unique play styles and different obstacles along the way. Hana had stopped counting by now just how many possibilities of combining weapons and upgrades there were. They certainly were enough, to make boredom impossible, for its essence lay in creating the best possible conditions out of the substance given – even though this was anything but easy on a losing streak.

Junkrat’s friends could not help but joke about several of their failed attempts with their favourite characters. Once Lúcio longed for his overpowering lightning bombs to return, though, Jamie’s nervous fingers made a preoccupied grab for a non-existent controller. Time bombs, cursed, thought-manipulating bombs, shard bombs, laser-triggering bombs…the explosions fanatic just had to see that with his very own eyes, if not even accomplish it in play. After all, D.Va assured him that the appearance and initial stats were quite easy to modify, as soon as one had figured out how to do it – a fun experiment they decided to save for later. They simply _had_ to delve into the game by putting themselves into it!

„So, that’s pretty much how it’s supposed to go,“ Hana concluded. “Glorious grub will be provided; home-made party music and the proper entertainment value are also good to go…and since the game is mainly about prevailing against your oppressors, all of our earnings from the stream will go to children affected by violence and oppression, too!”

Jamison was flabbergasted: “You two sure are the bomb, but I’m jus’ tellin’ ya stuff ye already know. I’ve gotta sit in on this with ya some time!”

She could not possibly be happier about such determination: “Once we’ll get to meet up without being pressured for time, I’ll be the first to teach you everything! That’s gotta wait, however. When it comes to achieving as much as possible within a time limit-“

“It’s important to know what yer doin’,“ Jamie finished the sentence for her with a knowing smile, “No sweat, Hanabun, no offense taken.”

Once more, he hugged both of them for luck.

“No offense meant to begin with,” Lúcio reassured him, rubbing Junkrat’s shoulder. „We’ll get together unseen and undisturbed eventually and then we’ll get to throw a decent pizza party – that’s a frog’s croak of honour-“

“And a bunny’s word of honour anyhow!” Hana added, but she simply could not stop herself from hanging on to Jamie’s shoulder. Her most sincere thoughts reached his ear through a whisper: “ _Reel. Her. In._ Mei would complete our party. Did you notice by now what a **sick** accuracy in firing that woman has? How she slides on her self-made pistes through the masses like it was **nothing**?”

Meanwhile, Jamison struggled to tame his laughing fit. He understood his friend’s enthusiasm all too well - the same applied for their shared hope in stronger bonds with Mei.

“There are just so many interesting stories she has to tell and she’s so cool - no, no, also in a _different_ way,” D.Va quickly swept any misunderstandings out of the way, “She would make such an epic gamer...if only she believed in her abilities, I swear!”

“Since you feel so strongly about it, why won’t you just hold her up in passing and tell her what you think, then?” Lúcio pressed Hana on the issue, rather puzzled.

Groaning in frustration, she could only go into a huff, though: “Ask me something easier, chummy! She won’t even buy that I’m super jealous of her travel experiences, but maybe she’ll defrost and think video games are fun, I don’t know, who _could_ honestly?”

“Ye better believe me when I say that I’ll be going through _those_ kinds of thrills more than enough for today,” Junkrat released them from his grasp and let out a deep sigh. “S’all up in the air regardin’ that.”

D.Va bumped her fist into the junker’s side in a friendly way: “Ha! That’s the way it should be, when your heart’s really in it, no question! Jamie, we gladly helped you to gain a beneficial inventory. If you truly wanna rock this, however, you’ve gotta do it as is right and proper, my fervid friend: Throw away those training wheels, don’t give a _rabbit’s whiskers_ about that help assistant and solve those puzzles coming up during the boss fight _actively_!”

“She’s got a point, man,” Lúcio could not agree more with her, “For any possible outcome runnin’ through your head right this second, there are so many others you couldn’t even guess. You’re definitely set on making someone happy, though; and that’s what will come through and make you achieve something - no matter how, no matter when - as long as you really mean it. So take a deep breath and get going!”

Lúcio’s optimism only met with Junkrat’s hesitant smile. It was not exactly relieving advice, but deep down, he knew that his friends were right, putting it better than he possibly could.

“A path comes to be the moment you take it. You better put those worries out of your mind at once and go in it to win it!” D.Va cheered him on and poked his chest, while Jamie remained silent. “Now, get out there and give me the best battle cry you’ve got!”

Hana knew one person or two that found screaming the excitement away quite helpful. It was _definitely_ worth a try with Junkrat.

A few secret trio handshakes and “Toi, toi, toi”s later, the two celebrities took their leave:

“It is on, champion!“

“After you, player two!“

\----------

_Take a deep breath and get going._ One did not have to tell him twice. As soon as Jamison was alone with his thoughts in silence, he got down to work. It was only a matter of waiting for Mei - the worst part about it all. Now, every single flick of the wrist had to go to plan.

A reliable guide for it was in the junker’s possession, though. He quickly pinned the draft for today’s masterpiece to the wall, but getting it had been pure luck of the draw. Many missions before, while the rest of the team had fallen into a deep sleep, Junkrat had allowed himself to leaf through Mei’s journal. That was how he got his hands on a little piece of home and a family recipe of hers by accident, which he had copied into his own notes the moment he saw it. This day, he wished to do his utmost to reconstruct it to a tee.

Lúcio’s earlier-provided ingredients found their places in several bowls and baking pans in no time at all, but the more progress Jamie made with his efforts, the more he furrowed his brow. Just like the eggs, slopping out of one shell into the next, the voices and advice of his friends blurred into one, echoing mass. Why did it feel like his stomach would make an outstanding corkscrew all of a sudden? For everyone who got here, the only way they cleared for themselves seemed to tend upwards. It was not typical of life to remain constant in the direction it took, however. There were as many nice surprises as there were relapses...and those were the ones that Jamison feared the most just then.

When he remembered the moment Mei had encountered him for the first time in all his destructive glory, teamwork seemed unthinkable to them. It happened on a day that many looked forward to, since it was meant to achieve greater things - namely revealing ways which should prevent another Omnic crisis. In light of the rapidly-increasing relationships of tension between humanity, machinery and environment protection, countless experts, old combat veterans and heroes of passion had assembled to scrutinize the danger zones surrounding the still remaining Omnium cores.

Outside of the negotiations, however, Junkrat and Roadhog found out extremely fast that one side of the involved played this game with marked cards. Rather than solving them, the suits preferred to provoke conflicts by having the upper hand - and naturally, a few self-sacrificing experts came along just at the right time for this. The junkers had gained enough negative experiences with such feigned do-gooders, delighting themselves in other peoples’ sincerity, to settle on razing their monument of hypocrisy to the ground in a total loss party.

_Everything came back to him through this mushroom cloud made of flour that rose in front of him while stirring._

They had reckoned without Mei when it came to this, though, trying at best to remedy the situation with old and new companions. As soon as one the most feared members which Talon, a terrorist organisation, could offer got involved either, the chaos was perfect and forced Mei and the junkers into retreat.

What had started with victims of circumstance soon had become a team of investigators, united by a good compromise: Junkrat had sworn not to get in the way of Mei’s colleagues, offering her explorative support on a neutral ground in return - because he felt confident in one thing: The suits would solely deliver the answers to former Overwatchers that would help them getting an advantage of their own. However, Junkrat’s dangerous honesty and absolute fearlessness in regards to statements, which might as well could cost him his head, became more and more of a problem for Mei over the course of their shared journey. She came to learn that in fast and relucting ways. 

On some days, a person sat next to her, holding the team together. Someone who cared for the needs of his companions, before he would attend to his own. This one, feeling an utmost loathing, whenever the authorities on the news only mourned for the financial damage caused by resistance attacks, instead of mentioning in what danger the people involved truly were with a single syllable.

On other days, they had barely escaped certain demise, because someone had almost conjured up another environmental tragedy through his hunger for destruction and hatred towards all his prior oppressors. Most often, his past with Talon, crossing his path, had haunted said person, urging him to not choose the wrong side, should he feel like being in the running again.

_Therefore, one pinch of atrocity came to another._

It was the one and the same person. Jamison, who saw no other way out of this mess than outdoing the tyrants, in fighting fire with fire - and next to this fact, it was their gaping faith in humanity - or lack thereof - which made them go separate ways.

Mei had been bound and determined. She was convinced that something in this ruined world had to change as a matter of urgency. Junkrat was too disappointed and embittered by all the ones that had given him the run-around with such promises. In contrast, he was certain that the same, disgusting rules of the game would sustain themselves in said ruined world. Mei thus had seen and heard enough of him for her to say that he should be ashamed of himself for this attitude and the actions resulting from it.

_Any prior hopes and signs of good will fell and sank, as if they were stuck in quicksand._

Could he blame her for this decision? No, definitely not. He was used to countless people having come to a similar conclusion - and that even long before they had exchanged words with him. Certainly, it was nothing new.

Did he want to leave it at that, though? Under no circumstances! Mei was far-seeing in all of her ways of thinking and acting. She always formed her own views on matters and was not afraid to make those views heard. An equal layer with her teammates was what she cared about, while she set her heart on the Earth as a safe home for everyone, full of zest for life. She was, by far, the last person he wanted to hurt.

Instead, Junkrat was all the more willing to put his own safety at stake. Should they try locking him up, he would break out - as usual, during almost any Advent season. Should they wish to give him a dressing-down, he would find a way to give them a taste of their own medicine. But no one, not a single one of those good-for-nothings, sneering at him from above, would defraud him of his lighthouse in Mei and his anchor in Roadhog. The ongoing conflicts with Talon and their consequential injuries had brought the latter of the two into a precarious situation he could not have freed himself from on his own.

Consequently, they had no option but to turn to Mercy, the guardian angel of all wounded. Being confronted with all the things that Junkrat and his accomplice had tried to suffocate beneath their criminal codenames for years was also something that they had been able to avoid just as little.

It was Mercy’s code of honour that had saved them back then, giving Mei a terrifyingly deep insight into the past of the two men. In the patient’s room, she finally had gotten to know Jamison and Mako next to Junkrat and Roadhog - but not everyone in the heroes’ affiliation was all that convinced, whether the good hearts of the doctor and her friend should not be treated with unthankful contempt way sooner than they wished for it to happen.

Naturally, the two junkers constituted too much of an international threat to let them go again. Overwatch’s recruits called up for an emergency meeting, debating for hours, whether Junkrat and Roadhog would turn out to be more dangerous as opponents or allies, instead. The majority considered the addition of new recruits, which were more familiar with the inner workings of Talon’s system and moved between the poles, as rather useful for their further success on missions, though. It should put Mei’s belief in second chances for everybody and the attentiveness of her friends to an acid test, but especially Junkrat took more of a liking to this deal than he expected at first. He had an additional safety net, jobs rich in variety, delivered bombs, got to take apart several of the threats that he and the others would equally classify as such and all of that for adequate payment. Everything appeared to go right – for now. 

As time went by, also a whole new Mei revealed herself to Junkrat under these conditions. In combat under her own rules, he finally realized where quite a lot of her stubbornness in regards to carrying her plans through stemmed from, as well as her immense, defensive posture at the slightest suspicion of devaluation of her person and efforts. The climatologist had to handle tasks that were actually meant for a whole regiment of her kind every single day.

_One thing led to another. ‘Being close to spilling out’ was far from drastic enough for most people to intervene._

Nevertheless, she could pass the burden on her shoulders to hardly anyone - all of those who she was able to trust with that blindly had been torn out of her life by fate long ago. Such a shocking tragedy sparked fear beyond measure in potential newcomers, regarding the idea of trying again by Mei’s side. No one wished to be buried in snow and ice against their will.

In equal measure, Jamison did not wish the lugging around of lifelong fetters upon anybody that reminded one, day by day, how wishing to rescue an endeared person, but being unable to do so, no matter how hard one tried, felt like – awareness that life had forced upon both of them.

Stretching herself to her limits came naturally to Mei. For some of her colleagues, she often became a research assistant. In addition, she organized travel supplies, took on tasks that others had trouble dealing with, lend personal and emotional support, became someone to settle disputes and analyze problems _and_ revolutionized climatologic science every now and then.

Jamison saw a major problem in all of that hard work, being dismissed by her as a matter of course. He did not want to watch Mei volunteer for single-handedly lifting up the world any longer - especially not when all that she could gain from it was a half-hearted “Thank You”, flying towards her in passing, should she be lucky for a change.

However, there was so much about her, deserving acknowledgement. So many things that only _he_ seemed to notice.

Junkrat certainly was unable to make neither head nor tail of it, but he enjoyed Mei’s company, no matter how short it turned out to be. It fascinated him what little time it took her, until she radiated secureness for others on the team. Mei was not overfond of talking about her passions, because she knew all too well that there was no stopping her, once she began. It couldn’t possibly bother Jamison any less, however, although he only understood around a tenth of the reflections about her specialties. Listening to all of it was worth it, if only for delighting himself in seeing just how much somebody could lose themselves in their work. One could find strength in her kind words, as much as they could stir someone up, the moment one was at loggerheads with her yet again - only for her to do the crying for the other squabbler, apologizing a thousand times. Mei enjoyed discussing serious matters as much as she liked to goof around with puns and sarcasm and she was open-hearted towards a positive outlook on life, despite all of its alterations.

Junkrat wanted to tell her countless things when it came to that, but he never had gotten the opportunity to do all of it justice until now - not to mention that he had trouble expressing these kinds of thoughts, stopping himself from tripping over his tongue, since it made him feel like the king of drongos every time it happened. Whether he liked it or not, he had to be satisfied with knowing that Mei was near him, even though he hoped that one day, in actual fact, he would be near _to_ her. It was an earnest wish, but also a risk he could not take offhandedly.

Whose leg did he try to pull here? Of course, this was _exactly_ the risk he meant to take!

After all, he followed a tight schedule - especially for a not exactly legal citizen. This cake, for which a large fondness existed throughout generations in Mei’s family, and his nicely-packaged gift were only the beginning of it. On top of that, he had in mind to take her to the Millenia cinema for enjoying the sequel to ‘Six Gun Killer’ and treating themselves to Olivia Rai in her best role. Even by the united forces of his friends, he sadly had been unable to get a hold of some tickets during a radio show, for meeting Mei’s great role model in the flesh. Those questions, standing between the audience and this sensational prize, could only be answered, if one _breathed_ Olivia Rai. No one else but Mei seemed to be up to the challenge, but that would have ruined the giant surprise within an instant. Lastly, he had decided on a visit of the ‘Maelstrom of Tides’, an underwater restaurant amidst a research centre for marine biology. Mei had mentioned often that she would love to refresh her knowledge about deep-sea findings. If the food should be looked after, just as well as wildlife there, nothing should get into the way of a nice evening, it seemed - or rather, as long as they could simply walk in and get a table. It was not necessarily possible to reserve a table in advance, once a large, almost slaying sum of bounty was put on somebody’s head.

All good intentions aside, Jamison, yet again, had no other option but to rely on his luck - and the fact that Mei would go along with it, too. He did not know what he would do, should she indeed wish for a pleasant togetherness between work mates and nothing more; when she would not even bother turning him down... Or worse: When she simply came over, only to bundle her research material together... and leave him standing there...

“ _I think I’m goin’ off me rocker! I know exactly why I didn’t spruce meself up, jus’ yet!_ ” The junker thought to himself, as the dough, contrary to expectation, dripped from the baking pan right onto his boot.

Off into the oven with it and then: Forward march! He barely had slammed the oven door, when a well-known voice, resounding from afar, made him jump up. It crushed a couple of his concerns...but it didn’t make matters easier.

“...She’s _here_..."


	3. A Culinary, Explosive Delight - with Plum Flavour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,
> 
> before the story continues, I would like to apologize for taking a little longer with the most recent update, due to an Easter break. Nevertheless, I will try my best to keep up the update schedule on my story, considering the last one and a half weeks the maximum of waiting time.
> 
> Once more, I would like to thank each of you for over 250 hits on my story, all the guests and fellow AO3 members leaving kudos and feedback for me in the comments and everyone stopping by for reading. I appreciate all of your support and interest greatly and am looking forward to eventually seeing more of the thoughts you wish to share on my work in my inbox.
> 
> Regarding Notes and Special Thanks on the story, a collection of all the ones applying to it in its entirety can be found before Ch. 1. So far, there are no further additions to be made.
> 
> I hope you'll get to enjoy reading, keep creating and have a great start into the soon-beginning weekend, everybody!  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Primed and ready, Junkrat dashed to their meeting point. The sooner he was aware of what to expect, the better.

At long last, she stood in front of him.

“ _There_ you are! Oh, I sure hope I haven’t kept you waiting for far too long…” with these words, Mei slowly went down the stairs.

He became stone-still. They could not take their eyes off each other, both equally astonished. Mei had to be serious about Junkrat’s suggestion. She just _had_ to. Nobody disappeared into the lab in such an elegant, but still snug, attire.

In the sunlight, streaming through the giant windows, Mei shimmered like a fresh blanket of snow. Shouldering a large bag, she was on her way in cosy boots and a heavy, crystal blue parka, dotted with frost patterns, just as Junkrat had expected it of her. Gloves and a knitted dress in the most vibrant shades of blue came into view underneath it. He had never seen her with her hair down and wearing slimmer glasses before, though. Jamison enjoyed how her chestnut brown eyes peeped out behind the thin frame and seeing Mei’s hair enwrap her round cheeks in swinging motion - it had something of a chocolate fountain, if only of a rather ingenious, with worldly wisdoms overflowing chocolate fountain.

Junkrat shook his head vigorously to chase that odd thought away. He had to pull himself together - he could not risk letting a single word of that slip. How would she react to such a well-meant, but all the more bizarre, comparison? Jamie did not want to find out. It was not allowed to end, before it even began. Not today.

By now, Mei wished that she had done it like Junkrat, bringing a pair of sun specs along. He approached her, downright shining in new splendour. Never in a million years had she believed to see the junker that clean - not even once. Today’s get-together seemed to be of great importance to him, too. Usually, nothing but the forces of weather and camouflaging his identity in a few public places could motivate Jamison Fawkes to wearing a complete outfit. He only did himself a favour by doing that more often, though, at least in her opinion. She had no idea where he had gotten it, but the rough biker style, accentuating his figure, certainly looked good on him. The torn, black and riveted leather clothing almost seemed to be tailor-made for Junkrat. Nevertheless, a soft centre hid beneath the surface, a cream-coloured turtleneck, being a great-looking match to his light hair.

” _If only he’d make such an effort for himself every now and then_ “, Mei thought, eyeing the junker from head to toe.

Through such an appearance, he had to _feel_ just as great in this moment. The more she stepped closer to him, the more careful she examined his face. Were those freckles gathering around his surprised eyes that she had never noticed beneath the usual smear, yet? There was something pretty to them, reminding her of brown seashells in the darkened sand of a beach… _Good gracious, did she seriously think that just now?_

“ _Well, better thought than actually said, I guess…_ “ Mei reassured herself, “ _What could have happened, had he heard something this schmaltzy coming out of my mouth… It doesn’t bear thinking about!_ ”

All concerns seemed forgotten, the moment they finally were side by side. It was pleasant to see each other smile, free from any duty or pressure. As different as they were, they still shared a thought or two. While Jamison waved at her with a loud “Nǐ Hǎo!”, Mei exerted herself to bring out a casual “G’day!”. They exchanged a puzzled look and sheepish laughter.

The next attempt was not all that different, as both of them asked at the same time: “Hi there! Doing alright?”

For Junkrat it only became funnier, once he saw Mei, pushing her cheeks up and down with her hands. She felt awkward in this situation. However, Jamison’s look left a relaxed and understanding impression on her. He signalled her to calm down by a small, friendly gesture of his hand.

“Roight. You go first!“ he started over in a silent tone, pointing at her. “Lookin’ smashing, that’s for sure!”

“Oh! Why…thank you…“ she replied, almost becoming inaudible, once she looked away, “Not gonna lie, I spent quite some time on my way here, pondering whether this is too much, but-“

Suddenly, Jamison made her pause by whispering along and leaning towards her: “Now, if ye jus’ become a _teeny tiny bit_ quieter, I won’t be able to hear any of the neat stuff ye hafta say”, he smirked, twirling his index fingers next to his ears, “Got some bad hearin’, sometimes from not listening well ‘nough, sometimes from all the boomin’ and kawoomin’ - not _bat_ hearin’, Mei! They sure as heck ain’t that large, heh, thankfully so, and not hypersensitive… Looks like I might’ve caused a misunderstandin’ there in the past.”

”Sorry! Sorry, I’m sorry. Sorry“, she waved her hands about with excusing haste, to which Junkrat only replied with giggling.

“Aww, Mei, don’tja worry ‘bout it! S’all good!” he responded, giving her a warm smile. “C’mon! Ye know me a lil by now. Jus’ crackin’ some jokes outta nowhere, s’always. Hand on the heart, though. I wanna make sure I understand ya. Don’t be shy! Same goes for second thoughts on how ye wanna look. Likin’ what ya chose _yerself_?“

Once she made eye contact again, Mei smiled back at him, answering with a silent nod.

”See?” Junkrat shrugged, smiling even wider. “Told ya, that’s all that matters!”

Mei delighted in the satisfaction that became visible on Jamie’s face, as soon as she gave him another heartfelt “Thank you!”, meaning to do his sincerity justice. It was a relief, seeing how they both were nervous in equal measure, but having their ways of working against it.

Enjoying the sight of her slowly-growing trust just a little longer, Junkrat decided to loosen up and leaned himself against the wall: “So, real talk. How’s me favourite snowflake in this big ol’, chaotic flurry doin’ today? Still out and about, puttin’ up a good fight, jus’ as I remember her?”

”Ah, I’m doing as ever – not worse nor better”, she answered, “Is it alright for me to catch up on something from before?”

He only blinked at her and waved Mei nearer, wishing for her to continue.

“I must say, you sure are one to talk! Looks like you’ve really found a style for yourself with this!

Jamison could hardly believe what he heard: “…Ye mean it?”

”Of course!” Mei nodded her approval. “Yet another pot appears to have found its perfect lid. It’s a nice choice, Jamison. It suits you!”

“Aww, ta! Now, that sure is nice to hear. Glad ye think so!”

”Where did you get a hold of that look, though…if you don’t mind me asking, that is? 

Grinning nervously, he started to scratch the back of his neck: „Don’t worry, snowflake. It ain’t a case of throwing someone passin’ through off their bike real quick, definitely not!”

“It wouldn’t even have surprised me by this point, had that been the answer”, Mei admitted, returning a nervous, pondering look. “All the better that it didn’t come down to that...” 

”Nah, not at all. Lúcio took me along for some sniffin’ about downtown once, together with Hana”, Junkrat could put her at ease. Knowing that the junker got along quite well with these two was a joy that Mei and him shared, “A shoppin’ stroll for us alone, hopin’ that no one would blow our cover. I got me hands on a couple o’ things that way, but if yer lookin’ for the bloke with a magic touch for the looks, yer far better off complimentin’ him! Lú is the one who made this happen.”

“I’m happy for you and thumbs up to _that_ then!”, Mei said, resting her hands on her hips. “It appears to be some rather… _sound_ advice he’s given you here!”

”…Are we seriously startin’ that, already?” Junkrat rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner and Mei bit her lip in anticipation, before the two of them only snorted with laughter in regards to his sarcastic question. What luck that their shared love for puns made them just as immune to them!

Mei regained her composure with a shake of her head after a while: “Oh well, oh well… Hey! Um… Are those freckles I’m seeing? Sorry, forget I said anything, should it be an awkward question to ask. It’s just that I never spotted them before, in between your larger sun spots, when you seem to have quite a lot of them.“

”Oh, wagon loads of ‘em, Mei, wagon loads! Don’t even get me started on the latter ones ye know by now! I wouldn’t even know where to put any _more_ of those things. They’re everywhere!” Junkrat exaggerated, slowly slipping into several roles to act out. “Wherever I go and stand, there’s at least one person, sendin’ their dramatic sighs towards the sky: ‘Woe is me! If only I had freckles, for I’ve never feasted me eyes on something so beautiful… Had fate granted me with only a few o’ those, I’d have the roight to consider me luck ‘perfect’…’”

He was unstoppable. Mei could not help but laugh at the melodramatic act, as Jamison tried to dig his fingers into the wall, sending his voice through unimaginable highs towards the ceiling and letting it sink down to the floors in lows, along with his continuously-fading hopes, until it cracked for the tears that were not flowing. He loved to turn something unexpected into ridicule, especially when he could entertain someone else through it.

All the prior despair appeared to be blown off, however, once he started to continuously slam the back of his prosthetic hand into the palm of his human hand in loud slaps, showing the enthusiasm of a salesperson: “Trust me when I tell ya, would it be within the realms of possibility, I’d yell at them: ‘Gather round, big and small, cuz I’ve got a landslide’s amount for ‘em all! Take it for a knockdown price and go ‘bout yer day!”

”Are you sure about that?” Mei followed up on it, still laughing. “Would you really wish for all of them to be gone? I don’t know… I think they’re another thing that goes nicely with…well, who you are…in your entirety.”

”Hoho! That could be a whole lotta things...whatcha mean?” He pressed her on the matter.

”You see... It...” she paused for a moment, looking upwards. Mei wanted to think what she wished to express over - think over, whether she actually dared to do it. In the end, she plucked up the courage: “It...looks like sparks just fly. Firework sparks in all directions...at least when I look at the smaller ones. Again, they suit you. Quite nicely, in fact.”

For a little while, he only stared at her in silence. Jamison smirked, but just to one side, since he still had trouble accepting that those sweet thoughts Mei shared with him were real: “…Huh… So that’s what yer thinkin’ about it… Boy, oh boy… Back in the days, when I was a wee lil Junkrat in the wasteland, everyone else said quite different things to me. Thought I was such a disgusting thing that even the good ol’ devil himself had only dared to spit at me through a _sieve_ – as ye can see all too well on the thingies that won’t come off on me, no matter how hard I scrub, _ahahahahahaha_!”

The laughter got stuck in his throat and his grin made an abrupt slip downwards, once he had Mei’s death stare in his sight; and so the mood came crashing down from a hundred to zero. She had made him a genuine compliment. Why did he - in all seriousness – have to turn it into something self-depreciating, based on something that had happened years ago, to follow it so bad? She simply could not get it into her head.

Luckily, Junkrat knew this stare all too well to defuse the situation: “…M-Mei, it was only a joke on their behalf. S’all a joke. Nothin’ to be upset about.“

" _Pff!_ It’s a terrible one and you know _exactly_ what I think about these kinds of ’jokes’…to use the term of what _you_ decide to dismiss those as…” she fired a snappish remark right back at him.

Sensing the passive-aggressive, reproachful undertone in her voice, Jamison let out a loud sigh and gave her an apologizing look. She returned it in an instant. No more words were necessary. They thus had already settled the matter between them: _Let’s not go **there**._

Due to her temper getting the better of her yet again, Mei felt guilty about the subdued mood.

She had to fix this at once, clapping her hands together and encouraging a change of topic: “Anyways, let’s just forget about that! After all, that’s not what we’re here for. I think, I even did something that’ll help you smile again... I sure hope so, at least”, she corrected her stance, trying her best not to reveal what she had been up to, “You see... There’s something that changed about me. I’m excited, whether you find out what it is. Right away: It won’t be easy!”

He got himself into playing around, making an effort to become an attentive observer. Junkrat narrowed his eyes to slits and scratched his chin, grumbling to himself.

It helped him to share his thoughts aloud: “...Hm... Well, those terror boots which should be able to kick in a submarine door sure as heck ain’t the thing. Those are comfy and enviable as ever... The parka is a trap, would be far too easy... Yer hair-”

There, the old treasure hunter’s instinct lit up in Jamie’s eyes. Mei blushed, noticing that he had solved her small riddle. His jaw dropped, while she pulled her streaks of hair on each side behind her ears and showed him something that seemed unbelievable.

She did not dare to look away.

Touched as he was, he did not dare to come near, getting to see them from up close.

”You recognise those?” Mei asked, almost inaudible again.

”...Yer wearin’ ‘em...” Junkrat still had to wrap his head around that fact.

She let out a content, shy sound of agreement, trying to put her thoughts in order: “You gave them to me...as a gift for my birthday... They still looked a bit different back then... They were... Well, at the beginning they were meant to be-”

”Meant to be bookmarks, yeah”, he helped her with a quiet interruption, still holding on to his chin.

”Please, don’t take this the wrong way: Your gift in my pigeonhole was such a beautiful surprise! Those snow angels...made me very happy... No one has ever made me something so...specific before - and that even all by yourself!”

Jamison could not utter another word. He was far too busy with not letting Mei notice the mess of emotions he was currently going through, instead. If he was brutally honest with himself, he had not even expected that Mei could find value of any sort in his present for her. It would not have surprised him, had she thrown the little package into the nearest litter bin the very same birthday. He had spent several days, bracing himself for the possibility that she would be annoyed, if not even grossed out that he had the nerve to send her something - while he would never get to find out what happened to it in the end.

”However... I thought they’re far too lovely for turning into dust collectors in the masses of books, somewhere in between my shelves. _That’s_ why I made a few adjustments to how you attach them... I just hope you can forgive me. I don’t mean to ruin your hard work, by no means! I...just meant to have them closer to me more often...”

” _...What in the blazes is she talking about?_ ” Jamison thought to himself. Why would she have the urge to apologize for holding something he made for her _so_ dear that she meant to have it as close to her as possible - as often as possible? That was no belittling of his efforts. To him, that was a major honour!

”I usually wear earrings only for special occasions”, Mei admitted, playing around with one streak of hair between her fingers, “They suit a lot of what I’m wearing, mind. That’s what I like about them... Are you alright with this new purpose, too, Jamison?”

He was so deeply moved and speechless that he could do nothing but nod, trying his best to hide the flustered state he was in behind his clenched hand.

”Yer... Yer _wearin’_ ‘em...” he stammered it out again, almost swallowing half of it, as his voice cracked. “Ah, damn it! I’m jus’ thrilled that ye really decided to show up... So, you _didn’t_ come over, only for stoppin’ by...didja?” Mei could hear and see his confidence fade away, the very moment he made it known. “Am I stoppin’ ya from doing anythin’ important?”

Nevertheless, she knew to silence his returning fears in a flash: “Oh, no, no! Don’t waste a single thought, when it comes to that! I’ve got all the time we need for what you’ve planned today. I’m not in a hurry and neither nasty surprises nor dissertations will change that.”

”...Dissertatio-wizzy-dee-what-now?” Junkrat welcomed being confused for a change. It kept him distracted from unsettling thoughts.

Mei paused for a while, until she facepalmed: “Gosh, that’s true! Deary me, what am I doing?” It was so unusual for her to _not_ talk shop with colleagues for once. Such things were not nearly as self-explanatory for others as they were for her. “You see...a dissertation...that’s something like a...like an extremely long argument for a matter. Someone decides to explore said matter further, trying to find reasons as to why some things are exactly the way they are...and the results of it are written down at the end. In most cases, they even turn out to come close to entire books in their length.”

”So, lemme get this straight: Someone scribbles all sortsa fuss onto hundreds of pages...only to answer a single question?”

”You got it!” she affirmed, pointing at him, “I wouldn’t brush it off as ‘fuss’ and nothing more, though.”

“Seriously, how long is that s’posed to take? Do these people go...outside? Do they live on a diet, consistin’ of delicious _light and pride_? Can ye get that done, before ya grow old an’ wrinkly? Who volunteers to do somethin’ like that?” Junkrat huffed back with a grin. 

”I mean, sure, it can be tiresome, to read _and_ work through. I won’t deny that. However, those things that people decide to write about are normally of great importance to them and on top of that rather interesting for the future”, she crossed her arms, once she saw Junkrat bobbing his head in tendential agreement and gave him a knowing smirk, “I sure wonder, whether the master of disaster would consider his heart’s matter a simple ‘fuss’, as well... _Doctor Boom_?” 

” **Hahaha! Ho! Well played, Mei-Ling Zhou, well played!** ” Jamison roared with laughter, catching up on her teasing. “Not gonna lie, that’s what they’d better call me, if I had a PhD! There’s the rub, though, Mei: _I haven’t._ Never will...and truth to be told, the way I know meself, I wouldn’t have the patience to pull somethin’ like that through, either, given a chance now. Borin’ too easily, y’know? That’s the reason why me blueprint drawings range from ‘razor-sharp detail’ to ‘drawn with pen in me nostril, seemed fun’.”

”On one and the same blueprint”, she added bluntly, as sorry as she was for admitting that Junkrat did not lie.

”’Xcactly, I was jus’ gonna say!” he agreed with her, taking no offense whatsoever.

There were a few good points in the serious questions amid his sarcastic ones; Mei was sure about that much: “Okay, maybe not everyone is loading so much stress upon themselves just for the heck of it. Should you wish to call yourself a doctor one day, no matter in regards to which studies, it’s the usual way of things to write one, though. There’s just no way around it and I can guarantee you that it takes way more time to get such a damnation schnitzel done than most people want it to .” 

”Damnation schnitzel!” it burst out of Junkrat. That was the finishing stroke to celebrate.

”It’s true!” Mei justified herself.

An intense laughing cramp later, Jamison wiped the tears from his eyes: “Thanks, Mei... Thanks for yer hilarious ways of puttin’ things! Hooly Dooly, did I miss those...but, hey! Wait a tic! That means...that means ye had to put up with that, too? Someone armed with so much knowledge like you certainly has such a thingy!”

”That’s...something I wanted to get to”, she replied, running her fingers through her hair, “I meant to expand my studies, as soon as I finished them, but...I didn’t get chance...because of...certain...circumstances...all that quickly.”

Junkrat tried to comfort her, patting her shoulder with his human hand. It took Mei by surprise, not being used to receiving such physical signs of empathy on a regular basis. However, Jamison knew exactly what she was hinting at, wishing to express his condolences to her.

“Ah, nevermind!” he said in all of a sudden, shrugging the matter off, “As if ye need some sorta ‘Great Job!’-sticker on yer passport and fridge for _rockin’_ at whatja love to do! That usually comes first, after all - I mean, look at Mercy! She ain’t one o’ those quacks, forgettin’ you exist as soon as the bell rings for lunch break. She’s a _doc_ from her first awake moment of the day to her last, through and through!”

”Yeah, exactly! Doctor Ziegler has never ceased to amaze me, even after all these years.”

”Which is why I think that her _person_ is a lot more telling than the _system_ ever will be...and the same goes for you”, he gave her arm an affectionate pinch, trying to cheer her up, “Cuz yer both equally devoted to yer cause”, Junkrat concluded with a warm smile which Mei could not help but return. In order to make her newfound courage stay, he asked her about those missed opportunities right away: “So? What kind of need for discussion does a Mei-Ling Zhou have for such a thing?”

It became impossible for her to contain her excitement any longer: “I had considered to research what kind of impact submarine volcanoes have on their environment and the climate!”

” **Submarine volcanoes**?” Jamison yelled with great excitement. “Those...exist?”

This only made Mei nod more eager and she was overjoyed to see such interest blaze up in him. He could hardly refuse her such happiness, whereupon they forgot everything else around them, as Junkrat hung on Mei’s every word. Their theoretical research trip to the other side of the world continued to go well, until Jamison’s good sense of smell picked up on a horrible stench. A stench he recognized.

”Once that’s done, it turns out to be a lot easier”, Mei went on, visualizing her explanations. “Piece of cake!”

That encouragement struck him like a bolt from the blue.

”... **Clatter cans and dung beetle balls! The _cake_!** ”, as if stung by an adder, Junkrat ran back to the crew canteen. Mei seemed rooted to the spot, once he simply left her behind, and this sudden panic bode ill. She had much bother with catching up to him.

Before Mei could get another glimpse of him, the junker had already slammed the door behind himself and closed it. The spectacle, offering itself to him here, put him in dismay.

”Oh no... Yer kiddin’ me!” Jamison complained in a continuous loop.

He certainly felt dangerous enough to take a closer look at the cake through the oven window, surrounded by thick wisps of smoke streaming out of it. The cake dough bubbled towards him as a slimy substance. Like evil spirits, begging to be released, it crawled upwards in its small streams with bursting blebs at the window. Jumping with fright, he let out a scream.

Still bewildered, Jamison gasped for air: “How in the world can someone ruin a cake so heavily that it’s almost comin’ _alive_?” 

The bubbling monstrosity was able to answer that question in an instant. Seeing the movements inside of the oven gave him the creeps. Yes. This dough _would_ rise - but not in a way he would _like_ it to. He had to act fast.

In the meantime, Mei had arrived at the canteen door, pulling the door handle with all her might. Finding it locked, while she could sense the unpleasant smell by now and hear muffled parts of Jamison’s complaints, interrupted by some coarse swearings, made her heart beat all they way up her throat: “Jamison? Are you still in there? Come out this instant! What the heck are you even _doing_?”

“No worries, Mei, everything’s A-OK!” he yelled with a shaky voice, doing his utmost to hide his panic, in order to stop frightening Mei even more. “I’ve got everything under control!”

”Sure, sure, which is why you barricade yourself in there, so I can’t check up on it. Tell it to the marines! You open this door right now, or I’m really gonna kick it in!”

”Mei, j-jus’ trust me with somethin’ for once! Don’t come in, ‘til I tell ya - even _dough_ it’s troublin’ ya. Step back and-” Mei flinched, as she heard him scream at the top of his lungs, being racked with pain, “ **Sweet, Mexican walnuts! That thing’s hotter than a burnin’ stump!** ”

There was not much more that Junkrat had to let her know. Mei had been on voluntary duty for the fire department long enough during her student days, in order to figure out what was about to happen soon. Struck with concern, she stepped back to make a running jump, reaching for Snowball in her bag. Only a few moments later, a loud, unexpected bang made her shriek, followed by a rattling noise coming from the canteen. Yellowy slime pushed itself through the narrow gaps between the door and its frame, as well as through the keyhole. That did it. She made a jump for it, roaring and letting her ‘terror boots’, as nicknamed by Jamison, fulfil their task.

She barely had kicked in the door, after she sent Snowball inside to take stock of the situation. The little drone could only react with a long-drawn-out “Eww”. What a horrible, sticky matter! Once she dared to look at the mess herself, it gave her quite a turn, her glasses slipping out of position. 

Only in a matter of seconds, Jamison Fawkes had succeeded in transforming the secret base’s crew canteen into a dripstone cave. He had thrown his accidentally-explosive home cooking, his plum-perfumed cake bomb, in a high curve, right into the ceiling fan on the other side of the room, scattering its contents everywhere. What had still remained of the ceiling fan could now be found on the floor, lying there in its sizzling shards.

Snowball flew across the damage done and sighed, once it found the root of the mishap, squatting with his hands above his head beneath a tea wagon.

The person in hiding interpreted that as an instant provocation: “What? _What?_ That’ll make yer day, seein’ me screw it up, now won’t it? Go ahead! Twist the knife in the wound! Ya never liked me anyway, you lil tin snitch!”

Such a tone of voice towards her small friend was something that Mei would not stand for. Clearing her throat, she silenced the junker and let him come out, making him feel quite awkward. A deep silence fell between the three of them, until the moment Mei swang her arm around, pointing out the obvious.

A single question was all she had, being in no way inferior to the prior explosion in its loudness: “... **How?** ” 

Jamison almost did not dare to look her in the eye. He owed her an explanation, though: “I... I think I know how... Back when I baked that thing, I... I didn’t change me clothes, yet. There was a lot goin’ through me head.”

She crossed her arms, waiting for it with grim-faced anticipation.

”O-of course it ain’t an excuse for me!” Junkrat reaffirmed, waving his hands in a defensive manner, “Fact is, though... Fact is: It was force of habit. I didn’t make a grab for the spice shelf, but in me pants pocket, instead. That’s where I keep a thing or two...y’know...’for emergencies’. Me special mixture. It’s the only way how I can make sense of it. Stirred in a pinch o’ gunpowder an' whatnot, instead of cinnamon and other things, it seems.”

”...Gunpowder... **Gunpowder?** ” Mei yelled, beside herself with anger. “Gunpowder. Cinnamon. Hey! Doesn’t matter! Who cares? It’s all the same stuff!”

Junkrat looked at her wide-eyed. Alarmed by what he had to witness, he had to see Mee talking herself into a rage, wildly gesticulating with her arms. This minute, he found himself in a familiar situation, striking him harder than any bolt of lightning possibly could. All of a sudden, he had Mei’s warning finger in front of his eyes again. The warning finger, which had burned itself into his memory from their last, separating dispute.

The longer he had to stare at it, the more he wished to fall out of his old, trusted hammock in ‘The Rathole’ any given second. That he would hit the ground, coming to realize how all of this only took place inside of a nightmare, getting his worries about their meeting into shape; but the more he wished for this to happen, the louder he could hear the sticky substance dripping down around them and the more penetrating the stench turned out to be. It was impossible to start all over again. He had to grit his teeth and get through it.

“And _you!_ ” she stepped right in front of him during her admonitory speech. “Are you even aware of all the things that could have happened? How... How do you even have nerve enough to lock the door in a situation like this? You should have let me catch up! At least-”

” **What for?** ” he bawled at the top of his voice, silencing her, as it echoed through the room. “ **What for?** So _you_ can jump in here, _completely_ in the dark ‘bout what’s goin’ on and get yerself hurt, _instead_?” 

Mei could only stare at him, aghast at this sight. Through the last couple of minutes, she had a mortal fright of spending the rest of the day patching Jamison up. Seeing him this upset only hurt her more, though. 

Panting loudly, he tried to calm himself down as best as possible. Everything in his face pressed itself together with guilt and anger that he directed towards himself. Letting out a forceful groan, Junkrat covered his face with his hands, since he just became aware that he had almost roared Mei into the ground - and was utterly ashamed of how quickly it had happened, despite how much he had wished for this to not come about. He had even failed to keep Mei free from worry for longer than half an hour of their shared time.

Regaining her self-composure, she sighed back at him, taking another severe look around: “Anyways, we can’t just leave it like that. This mess has to disappear as quickly as it came to be!”

”Wh-wha... In this very moment?”

”Nope. In _August_. Of course, right now, Jamison! The state of things is unacceptable!”

He insisted on rejecting her decision on the spot: “Nonsense, Mei! I messed it up, I need to clear it! Ye had nothin’ to do with it. Why shouldja make up for the damage, then? Can’t...can’t that wait? At least for a bit? I sure as heck didn’t bring ya here for cleanin’!”

” _How long_ , though, Jamison?” she glared at him. “Until tomorrow, so the rest of us gets to find this, thinking we’re shooting ‘The Return of the Ghost Insects - Part III’ here? Just look at those slime cocoons hanging from the ceiling! On your own, you’ll solve this problem much slower and since you almost forgot about anything in the making here, thanks to _me_ , distracting you from what’s actually important with _trivial chit-chat_ , it’s only the right thing to do...helping you out, I mean.”

”...What?... No... _No_ , that ain’t-” Junkrat could not believe his ears. It pained him to see Mei taking the blame for mistakes she did not make, let alone her throwing dirt at things that had made her happy, like they would carry no weight. He immediately wished to convince her of the contrary, but she could not hear him - better said, she could not bother with any further discussions, when duty called.

As Mei threw her parka and gloves onto her bag in the hallway, rolling up the sleeves of her dress, an aggressive ringing sound, one how he only knew it from boxing, kept rushing through Jamison’s head. 

It seemed like he was not supposed to see even a single wish of his fulfilled, while anything he wished to avoid today came together. Yet again, Mei had stormed against him. Yet _again_ , they had an argument. _Yet again_ , she had worried about his well-being immensely and had to toil twice as much, through his own fault.

”Well then. Back to work!” Mei said, charged with anger, as she trudged towards the lab to get cleaning utensils. Despite having turned the corner of the hallway in her zest for action and not being able to see her anymore, Jamison could still hear her frustration as clear as crystal.

” _What else is new?_ ”

Hearing her question from afar, Junkrat felt completely defeated.


	4. Stumble Storks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,
> 
> this time, I have waited with the next update, in order to return to the usual Sunday update schedule from before. I will try my best to keep it that way from here on out!
> 
> Thank you all so much for almost 400 hits and all the kudos, constructive feedback and comments sent! I appreciate all of your feedback and thoughts greatly and always look forward to potentially seeing more of it in the future. 
> 
> Regarding Notes and Special Thanks on the story, a collection of all the ones applying to it in its entirety can be found before Ch. 1. So far, there are no further additions to be made.
> 
> I hope you'll get to enjoy reading, keep creating and have a great start into the new week, everybody!  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For quite a while, Mei and Junkrat cleaned, scrubbed, scratched and mopped their way through the sticky disaster, not exchanging a single word. One sneaked a peek at the other now and again, but none of the two had the courage to come out of their corner for making eye contact.

Jamison was still far too dedicated to holding a silent grudge against himself. Mei did not dare to talk to him about it. Perhaps, he was someone who rather preferred to be left alone in situations like this, in order to calm down.

” _Hadn’t he told me that upfront, if that was what he wanted, though?_ ” That thought refused to leave Mei alone. Maybe he just waited, longing for her to break the silence between them.

There was only one way for her to find out: “You see that, Jamison? Together we almost made it! Everything’s about to look as good as new”, she hesitated, glancing at the ceiling, “Well...apart from that ceiling fan...and the door, better said....”

However, she got nothing out of him, apart from a quiet “Hmhm...”, his gaze fixated to the kitchen sink.

”There’s something good about that!” she persisted. “Should we keep it up, we’ll have just enough time for everything else!”

”Yeah. Whatever.”

Once she brought the rushing water of the faucet to an abrupt stop, he finally looked at her. Mei paused for a moment, before she took heart and tried to defuse the bomb, which had plugged itself together inside of his mind, by her own hand.

”Hey... I’m... I’m sorry that I flipped my lid like that earlier. I was scared out of my wits for you, when I couldn’t figure out what’s going on in here.”

Hearing that, he turned towards her in shock.

”I know, it’s not like we’ve been through _far worse_...but I hardly remember the last time I saw someone like _you_ show any signs of panic. How this situation unsettled you this much...that...that made me nervous, too.”

Staring downwards, she did not notice how Junkrat kept coming closer to her, his face marked by concern. His hands reached out for her shoulders from behind, in a sincere wish of comforting her, hesitated and then fell back down just as quickly, discouraged by the mere thought of seeing her reject it.

Mei pushed her glasses further up her nose, hoping to stop something _else_ from pouring out this way. It happened to her much faster than she wanted it to, the moment she tried to make things that unsettled her known - she was ready to go out of her way to not let that occur: “I’m not going to lie to you... The moment I found that door to be locked, I already saw the oven door fly straight into your face in front of my inner eye..."

Junkrat looked away, biting his lip. He felt like scolding himself even more now, knowing for certain how much he had made Mei worry about him. She was as afraid of him injuring himself, as much as he was afraid of letting her down again. Those were things they had coped with multiple times before - and still none of these demanding experiences could help the two with putting a stop to them.

”Anyways, all I want to do is apologize, should I have adopted the wrong tone...and if there’s anything else I’ve sincerely hurt you with... _please_ tell me about it!”

Bracing herself for the storm to come, Mei turned around at long last, trying to take a step forward and bumping into Junkrat, who stood right behind her, at top speed as a result. He had not counted on such a reaction. She had not noticed him coming that close to her. Like gunshots, they fired apologies back and forth between them, both blushing, while Junkrat tried his best to stop an utterly embarassed Mei from hiding her face in her hands.

Looking him in the eye again surprised her all the more. Any prior signs of rage in his face seemed to have disappeared.

Instead, he talked to her in a soft, calm tone, stepping beside her: “Mei, don’t be ashamed of anythin’ ye did. Yer not to blame at all. In fact...I’m...the one who should be sorry.”

He hesitated to carry on for a few seconds, waiting for Mei’s reaction. She had already taken a deep breath to object, until she saw the caring look in his eyes and stopped herself from doing so.

Thankful to see her respect his point of view, Jamison continued: “There’s a lotta things I wished to do with ya today, but seriously, this roight here ain’t one of ‘em”, he groaned, continuing to massage his forehead with his index and middle fingers, “I was all at sea ‘bout you comin’ over, hopin’ I wouldn’t blow it again - and that’s how I jinxed it. Actually, I wanted nothin’ but spare ye from whatja had to lay yer eyes on jus’ now...”

Mei covered her mouth with her hands in shock, while Junkrat averted his gaze down to the ground, grinding his teeth in discomfort.

”Again, all I did was causin’ ye sorrow - not to mention ya burdened yerself with guilt cuz of me, only for being so over the moon that I enjoy listenin’ to yer stories that much. It was awful, Mei...and...I understand, shouldja feel like packin’ up and makin’ a run for it, once we’re done here”, his facial features convulsing in pain, Jamison started to mumble, “ _Wouldn’t be the first time that happened, after all..._ ”

Mei believed to be nearly able to see his stomach ache, while hearing that.

”No!”, she tried to contradict him, reaching out for his arm, “No... Do you seriously believe that would be a reasonable ending to all of this happening?”

Both of them knew the answer to that question, though. They were well aware just how much of a reasonable ending it _had_ been in the past. The shadow of their prior disputes still lay heavily upon them.

Slowly but surely, Mei was able to sense that and gave free rein to her stream of thought: “Great...just great! Why did I even have to fly off the handle like that again? Jamison, I didn’t mean to lecture you, I really didn’t”, her hand moved up and down over his arm in gentle strokes.

He returned the stroking on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring nod: “There’s no need to stress it so much, snowflake. I _believe_ ya when yer sayin’ it wasn’t whatja meant to do.”

”Oh, what a whole lot of use I was to you so far, by discouraging you even more!” she huffed, angry with herself. “In the end, you did nothing but become anxious...”

”Hey now... Ye make it sound like that wouldn’t apply to you, too - but it does!” Jamison interrupted her, “I gave ye quite a scare by pullin’ such a stunt...which is why I don’t blame ya for blowin’ yer top. I get it, what came out of this is far from perfect and it cost ya quite a few nerves, but it still didn’t stop you from worrying about me and that’s somethin’...I...sure as heck don’t take for granted.”

Junkrat ruffled his hair and looked away, hoping to distract Mei from the fact that his voice had become quieter. He hoped that Mei would not wish for him to elaborate on it, fearing he could phrase his thoughts in a way that threatened to shake the common ground they had just found together. However, she remained silent, waiting for him to finish.

”That’s why I want ye to stop feelin’ bad when it comes to this. I appreciate yer care... Quite a lot, even.”

An uneasy smile came over their lips. They had quarreled with each other from different points of view on the matter, while both of them still had wished to accomplish the same thing.

”Other than that...are you okay?” Mei asked, already settled on making a dash at any possible issue in need of her thoughtfulness. “Your screams in here...they certainly packed a punch, I’ll give you that...You did not hurt yourself on top of that, though, did you?”

Junkrat shook his head hastily: “No, no, everything’s still there, all without a scratch...but I believe I’m owin’ ya the same question... Me huge fuss was rather ear-piercing, I’m with you there... I...” he growled and began to pull his hair, “Darn, I didn’t mean to do that! I wasn’t furious with you. I jus’ got angry with _meself_! That wasn’t-”

Carefully, Mei held on to his upper arms, leaving him speechless. It did him good to feel her soft hands on his skin, gently encouraging him to stop by moving his arms downwards, until he was able to put his hands in hers.

Noticing the warmth return into her voice reminded him of how long he had missed hearing it: “Jamison, please, calm down. You don’t have to reemphasize every single word, as if I wouldn’t believe a thing you’re saying. How about we were _both_ wrong? Does that sound like a good conclusion to agree on?”

Once the junker saw how Mei tried to reach his shoulder for an encouraging pat, he immediately bent down to her, so she could reach it. At last, they had a reason to laugh again and the severity seemed to have been taken away from them.

”Don’t paint it blacker than it actually is. There are worse things”, Mei giggled, “Of course I stick around - even if more had come to grief, I would’ve stayed. That would be the final straw, leaving you alone with all those efforts and troubles. No way!” she gave his hands a tight squeeze and smiled. “Now, throw that face looking as miserable as sin into the trash where it _belongs_ and start right off where you left it, before I got here!”

”...Ye sure ‘bout that?” Jamison muttered, quite intimidated, “Shouldn’t I rather stick to makin’ _rock soup_ , instead? It ain’t like we hadn’t wasted enough food today, already, roight? Oh, how I hate that!”

”Oh yeah? What about this, then?” Mei pointed at the two bowls and remains of the ingredients on the kitchen counter, challenging him to reconsider. “Wouldn’t it be just as much of a waste to not make use of those? Why are there two bowls full of dough, anyway?”

”Well, take a wild guess! That cake’s got two layers! There’s a first one full o’ cinnamon at the bottom and one _without_ it goes on to-” Now, Jamison got it. He slammed his face into his hands, clinging to it, as he shook his head in disbelief; only to let go of it, laughing frantically and dancing on the spot. He could not believe that he, indeed, had a second chance.

Mei caught up on that, too, by a close look at his reaction: “If you like, I can lend you a hand! Perhaps, it’ll be even more fun to bake together.”

”I thank ya kindly for yer offer and caring, Mei”, he laid both of his hands on her shoulders with caution, “I think you’ve helped enough for today, however! It was meant to be a surprise for you and I’ll continue to keep it a surprise, til it’s done! Sure, I can’t promise ya to make what it was s’posed to be beforehand, but I can assure ye that it won’t blow up a second time.”

”Alrighty, I’ll respect that! Then I won’t hold you up any longer and take myself to the back. I promise to not take a look, before you’re finished. Simply do your thing, Jamison. Dedicate yourself to your element!” Mei added an emphasizing, sweeping gesture of her arm to it. “ _Improvise!_ ”

Very right she was. The best turns of events came to be for Jamison, whenever he got a sudden flash of inspiration. Even before Mei could take a seat, Junkrat had already swung a frying pan and butter around. It didn’t take long for an inviting smell and a pleasant sizzling to fill the room. This time, however, the junker made an effort to follow a procedure he had a mastery of for years - only with a few adjustments, turning into a sweet treat.

He swiveled the soup ladle in his hand at idle speed and laughed: “Why so dead silent in the back? Yer in Angela’s waitin’ room, or what? I gladly talk some more to ya, if ye feel like it... _Oh!_ Wouldja look at _that_... I don’t believe this, that’s just what I needed!” Jamison cried out a sarcastic complaint, when he found a familiar object in his ladle.

”What’s the matter?” she jumped up in an instant, but forced herself to hold on to her chair in memory of the promise she had made.

”No worries, Mei, believe me. It ain’t even half as bad as what we jus’ got fixed. I wanna be honest with ya. I’ve got somethin’ for you... Ye wanna know what happened to it?”

”What happened?”

”Fell into the dough. Must’ve happened, while I was flour-blind for a lil while, wavin’ me arm around... Ah, damn it, lemme get that cleaned for ya real quick...” Junkrat washed the little lump of dough, shaking his head in annoyance. “Hooly Dooly, if this ain’t a _drongo story_ goin’ unmatched, I dunno _what_ is!”

”Nah!” Mei tried to make herself heard through the rushing water, “Feel like listening to a _real_ ‘drongo story’, while you’re working?”

” _Pffsh!_ Yeah. Roight, Mei. _You_ and drongo stories. Like that could ever happen to you!” Jamison knew that she would never lie to him, not even to cheer him up. Since he admired her for several of her adventurous skills however, it seemed all the more unlikely for them to share an equally bad luck in regards to mishaps. After he had dried her present in paper towels, he poured the dough into the frying pan, letting out a provoked laugh: “Well then, humour me! One ‘Mei-Drongo-Story’ original to go, if ye please!”

While the golden, light dough began to fly into the air by a loose swinging of his hand to turn it around, she fired away: “Right... It’s up to you, whether you’re buying this one or not, but what I’m about to tell you seriously happened to me a few years back. So!”, she slapped her knees, encouraging herself to go for it, “I still was a student at the time and I think...I was even twice as busy in those rookie years as I am today. There was still a lot to learn for me, after all. It was my first time far away from home, living together with complete strangers and working for university, the fire brigade or my part time job in any free minute I could sacrifice”, she took every aspect of it into account by the help of listing it with her fingers, waiting if there was something she actually had dared to forget.

”Is there a particular kind o’ human that’ll do just fine without any sleep, food _and_ water? Or did ye never mean to insist on bein’ human and it jus’ skipped me mind?” he interrupted her with sarcastic questions, letting his masterpiece cool off.

”Well, that’s just the thing: I either ate on the train or while walking most of the time”, Mei had to admit, shortly followed by Junkrat’s shocked laughter, “Lack of sleep, though... Gosh, that really was something else... Some day, I got to the point where my head was nothing but mush. I got to notice that, because of one thing in particular.”

”Ye fell into a coma on the train, drivin’ back and forth between one final stop and the other for...let’s say...seven times without you noticin’?”

”If only that had been it!” Mei answered, feeling embarassed. “No. Before I was on my way to uni, I used to check on my pigeonhole every time. I was just about to open it”, she took her glasses off, holding it into the sunlight and reliving the moment, “That’s when I saw how many dirt stains there were on my glasses - didn’t clean those for a while. It started to bother me _so much_ in the bright light of the lamp that I meant to change that immediately. I took the sleeve of my sweater, as usual. What I never heard before while doing that, though, was this odd, rough scratching sound coming out of it.”

”...No.”

”Yes.”

”... _No!_ ” Junkrat kept shaking his head in disbelief.

” _Oh yes!_ ” Mei insisted in a sing-song.

”Don’t cha come the raw prawn with me! You-”

She shrugged, still clueless to this day how she could have let that happen: “It didn’t take me two seconds to forget that I still had my keys in the same hand I pulled further into my sleeve. _I cleaned my glasses with my keys!_ ”

Mei could hear two knees slamming into the kitchen counter. In the meantime, Junkrat had sunk to the ground, while kneading the dough bags, laughing so hard that his voice was in danger of disappearing.

”I mean...don’t get me wrong, the cause was still achieved. Those glasses sure as heck were clean, but...”, she leaned backwards, letting her memories sink in, “It looked better than any potato field, too. I was completely puzzled back then. I hardly recognized myself being that... _benighted_. But yeah, there you have it! Under the right circumstances, I can pull of something like this, as well. It comes naturally to stumble storks like us.”

”Stumble storks?” Jamison wished for her to elaborate on her word choice, making haste to gain yet another ‘Mei-Ling-Zhounesian’ term, as he liked to call it, to make use of himself.

”Yes, a ‘stumble stork’ is a clumsy person.

”Well then!” the junker found his wish satisfied, bursting into a song,

_”There’s somethin’ new we learned today,_

_Somethin’ new we learned today,_

_Somethin’ new we learned today - from Mei!_

A toast to Stumble Storkanity, because...” he rattled the soap ladle inside the empty bowel with triumph, “I’m finally ready to serve!”

Mei had never turned around that fast. Jamison could not have been happier, seeing her marvel at the tray. She was not even able to thank him as quickly as he helped to provide dishes and coffee for her.

The moment he sat next to her, he was on an even keel: “I beg yer pardon. I ain’t got the slightest idea how ye like yer coffee. That’s why you’re better of helpin’ yerself. I insist, _do_ thieve ya some, should ya really like ‘em!”

”Only if the same goes for you! Now that you rid yourself of all that nervousness, your stomach shouldn’t feel so tied-up anymore, am I right?” her considerate question took the junker by surprise.

” _My, my!_ ” Jamison thought to himself with a content smile. It baffled him that Mei indeed remembered such tiny details of their prior conversations that went way back.

”Thank you so much, Jamison!” he did not have to offer it twice to Mei, who immediately took a hearty bite of the first bag. She was positively astounded, once she noticed the sweet plum and chocolate flavors inside. They were small and delicious, just right for a quick nosh.

Her liking was confirmation enough for Junkrat that he had done and delivered his best. Of course, making Mei happy with a tasty piece of home was one thing. However, it did him good to see how something done all by himself could give so much to someone else. If he was completely honest with himself, he certainly felt like he would be able to get used to the taste of his little, culinary invention.

What Mei addressed afterwards surprised him all the more, though. She had recognized the exact origin of Junkrat’s method. They had not been all that much different from Jamison’s veggie bags - only their content was another one. He was shocked to see her remember what seemed so small to him from almost a year ago.

For Mei, however, that went without saying. She would not _dare_ to forget that one time they had travelled back to Dorado as a group of three, along with Roadhog.

Back then, it was up to Junkrat alone to free the other two from an awful fever that had come over them. He had been a great help with this dish and his attentiveness, when Mei and Roadhog were able to consider nothing apart from turning around on the side in bed their only achievement worth of note - and that for two weeks straight. Nursing them back to health had been anything but easy for the bomber, seeing them both suffer and protecting them from local gang activities. Nevertheless, he had managed to save them from worse in the long run.

Hearing such praise, Junkrat insisted that Mei did not portray herself smaller than she was. After all, her help, or better said the help of her flying companion, had been just as invaluable in such trying times.

Jamison nourished a blazing hatred against the Omnics. He did not trust anything that could be considered their kind - not even from the back of his head to the tip of his nose. Mei had to assure him time and time again that Snowball was not one of them, but rather a weather drone she had created by herself. Only under that notion, Junkrat was willing to turn a blind eye to it - especially since Snowball’s help had gifted them with countless loads of cooling pads and clean drinking water in the past.

Snowball seemed to whistle a proud “Hear, hear!”, flying above their laughing heads and around the table.

Especially Roadhog had gained a lot out of it, much to Mei’s surprise. Jamison could guarantee her in his bodyguard’s name, that the reliable bloke could not remember to ever have slept as well as he did under the drone’s cure.

Mako was not the type to express his feelings often. One night, though, once Roadhog had gotten used to working for the same cause with everyone else around here, he had told Jamison something important. Quietly, he had let him know, how well he understood why Mei had left the two of them behind, why he was giving his okay to _let_ her leave, one day and that he did not blame her for choosing to get out of the deal in the slightest...but to enjoy travelling with her again, to fight side by side, seeing how much good stemmed out of it for everybody... Yes, that certainly was quite something. 

It was merely a thought. A secret between them. A secret that Mei kept safe in her heart and considered to be of incredible value - and also proof that long walks at night, going fishing or a visit at the piggy shelter with Roadhog, as it used to be, were _so_ overdue.

”Too right! Now that we’ve had it with “overdue”, good call! I had somethin’ for ya, after all... There ye go!” she had successfully reminded him of the present to give her now.

Mei could not believe her eyes. She admired the box in her hands, eyeing it carefully from all sides: “Oh my gosh... If that isn’t a treasure chest, I don’t know what is...”

”Beautiful, ain’t it?” Jamison added. “Ye should go to D.Va, if yer feelin’ like thanking somebody for it. I wanted to have this for yer present at all costs, so she made sure to send it flying straight to our place.”

”Oh, definitely!” Mei looked outside the window. Her joy faded away in a sudden, while worries began to resurface in her facial features. “What a hassle... I hope to catch her for a minute without disturbing her...”.

Junkrat had seen enough of her doubtful face for today. He reached for her hand, gently massaging it with his thumb and thus regaining eye contact with her: “Trust me, she’ll _always_ have a minute for ya! No kiddin’, she’d be over the moon, shouldja consider stoppin’ by to play video games with all of us!”

He was happy to witness the impact of his encouragements, looking at her.

Mei’s expressions came and went like rolling waves within seconds. She seemed to be touched, now knowing that someone even thought of looking forward to shared time with her - a beaming smile that soon reshaped itself and bent downwards from her doubt’s strength, whether she could make it all worthwhile.

Continuing to pat her hand with his fingers, Junkrat gained a vague impression of how she must have felt long ago, when he had been like that. Mei once told him how much his own expressiveness had helped her to read out his true thoughts from his facial features like one would read from a book. Jamison had a habit of never being entirely silent - even though he did not always make use of his _voice_ to speak.

In fact, she felt caught, the moment he seemed to have stumbled right into her head, pulling her thoughts out aloud: “I know why yer hesitatin’... It’s...not exactly like that situation between you and her ran all that smoothly. Hana jus’ stopped by and felt like admirin’ yer travelin’ experiences and...that talk was way shorter than expected, but all the more awkward."

Mei looked downwards, regretting to have made it come to this. She pressed his hand in confession and kept avoiding his gaze.

”Still, though!” leaning over to come closer to her, he made her gasp. Suddenly, they were nose to nose, as he regained her attention, “There’s jus’ so much she’d like to know ‘bout ya! D.Va’s a tough cookie, but quite a ray of sunshine, too”, he paused and pondered, tipping his lip and giving her an motivating hint: “Why, if one looks at it like _that_ , there should be a reason or two why you two would get along jus’ fine!

”Ohohoho, _hush_!” Mei gave him a gentle slap on the forearm, only making him giggle. Not even her serious look could make him save that sweet talk for when she felt like being _through_ with retreating. Junkrat had settled on getting her back out of that snail shell that her timidity and past burdens made look so inviting - especially because it did not suit the rest of her zealous nature and often turned out to be completely unnecessary.

Lastly, he hoped to fuel her bravery with something that could not possibly seem more reasonable to her, leaning back and shrugging the matter off: “C’mon, I mean... If _I’m_ not someone to bother her, how could _you_ ever mess somethin’ up between the two of you?”

Mei let it all run through her head once more. This would not have been the first time that she had rushed off to be overcautious in a situation that did not require it: “...Well, if you say so... There’s not much more I can do apart from trying, now can I?”

A squeal of joy filled the room, once Mei took a look at the box’s content. Junkrat was just about to ask, whether she liked the watch. Before he could utter a single word, though, she had already put it on.

”What a beautiful thing! It looks like it was made for me.”

Mei put her astonishment into words, whereas Junkrat nodded with a wide grin.

She had no idea that his quiet thanks were serious.

“It suits my parka to a tee”, Mei pulled her hand back, touching the watch and giving him a questioning look, “...It’s almost like you _knew_ I had one just like that.”

”Eh heh, it ain’t ‘xcatly like that, snowflake”, Junkrat had to confess, cocking his head, “I knew it would suit ya - but I had no clue it would be _that_ suitin’.”

She let out a silent laugh, not quite believing it herself.

”It was one o’ me stroll findings! Gave it a decent makeover and the repairs it deserved. No idea where it would’ve landed, had I not taken it... Guess me urge to have a look around came jus’...in the nick...of _time_."

Groaning and holding on to her forehead, Mei pretended to be indignant. Jamison had never believed to be able to laugh at her lecturing finger one day - but here they were: “...Beat me to it! You beat me to it and kept that information to yourself, _only_ to make such an awful pun!”

”What can I say? Had a pretty good teacher”, Jamison mimicked her, resting his chin on the palm of his hand and poking her arm affectionately, “Took a couple ‘tempts, but now it should be up to scratch and work the way it should. A lil trial and error s’all ye need to figure out what that thing has in store, I s’pose...but the moment it acts funny, yer givin’ me a ring for help, ya hear?”

”That’s what I’m going to do!” Mei assured him, tightening the watch around her wrist. “Thank you so very much!”

”Sorry once more...for lettin’it fall into the dough. What a shame that it didn’t go better...”

Mei gasped: “Oh, dear me! That’s right, but I’d rather say...what _luck_ that it didn’t go _worse_ , because it fell into that bowl! Do you wanna imagine what could’ve happened, had you filled the whole thing in and pushed it into the oven?”

Junkrat clenched his teeth, hissing in response.

”The battery wouldn’t have survived for ten seconds... Now, that would’ve made for a horrid spectacle... That settles it! It’s a _lucky_ watch now!” Mei decided for herself. “Makes it twice as pretty.”

Jamison felt flattered by such a decision. Nevertheless, another cry of dismay was not long in coming. He only had to take a closer look at the clock face of Mei’s new watch for it, which she eyed in the light.

”Holy cannoli, we’re runnin’ out of time! Can we even make it from here?”

”Tell me what you’re getting at”, she jumped up, “Then we’ll figure it out all the faster!”

”Well, it’s jus’ that I felt like takin’ ya to the cinema”, Junkrat explained to her in a haste, “There’s a debute of a mega film this week at the Millenia, but I’m afraid there’s no way we’ll make it in time.”

Mei did not think so, slamming her fist into the palm of her other hand: “Not if we decide to go underground. The metro-net of King’s Row sends out rides there every five minutes.”

”... _Eww_...Scrappy filth territory...”

With a growling “ _Jamison_...” behind her teeth, Mei tried her best to contain herself and ignore his derogatory remark against the Omnics.

Junkrat kept shaking his head, not impressed by her reaction: “Don’t cha gimme that ‘Jus’ stop it!’- look o’ yours on such a serious matter! If _you_ believe I’m gonna risk runnin’ into those scrappies down there unarmed, yer _so_ barkin’ up the wrong tree!”

Mei let out an annoyed sigh: “Calm down, already! Do you seriously believe those poor things will do that to themselves by choice? Coming near human passengers, where they’ll be taking a punishing again?”

”Those ‘ _poor things_ ’”, he held on to his cheeks and pouted, trying to give Mei’s term an old granny voice to mock it in the most striking way possible, “as ye wish to trivialize ‘em, have wiped the floor with countless humans often enough to consider themselves _blessed_ to be even allowed a stay down there! It ain’t my way of sortin’ things like this, but hey! We all know hell’s gonna freeze over, before a single suit decision will start makin’ sense!"

”I’m truly sorry, if it came off as trivializing this to you, Jamison, but trust me, I’m not!” she clarified it. “Listen, I’m not gonna make the mistake and say I know all of what went down here, while... I was ‘off the map’, let’s call it that - let alone say I know exactly all of what _you’ve_ been through..."

Jamison replied with a respectful, but serious nod, being thankful that she did not presume to do this.

”However, please seal your anger for a moment and think this through: Aren’t the Omnics that still remain in King’s Rows underground residing there in a rather _peaceful_ existence, in direct comparison to the ones humanity had to raise their weapons against time and time again? Through the eyes of an evil-spirited mind, they’d have quite a few spots to target the innocent...but they don’t. Sometimes fear is a more determining strength than any other force could be and, at worst, does some make up for crimes that they did not even commit!”

” _Oh, does it now?_ ”, Jamison interrupted her in a sharp, sarcastic tone.

She made a reach for his arm, giving him a concerned look that he returned in an instant. As much as this topic was like skating on thin ice between the two of them, Junkrat knew that Mei was only trying to give both sides of it an equally-fair understanding - but he did not wish to risk getting her into sincere trouble, which would make it just as impossible for her to have such an open-minded outlook on it as it was for him.

”I know... That last part is something I don’t even have to tell you...” she whispered, “You could sing me a song or two when it comes to _that_ , after all... and that’s exactly _why_ I want you to let things be for now... I know, you won’t believe me, but what is left of the Omnics in King’s Row is probaby more afraid of humans than the other way around. Just keep doing your thing, endure those ten minutes and go up those stairs, where _you’ll_ be able to find paths free from worry for yourself. You still have a decent disguise, at least - such a chance turns out to be quite slimmer for an Omnic”, Mei grabbed both of his hands and started to press them, “So, what’s the plan? Still feel like going to the cinema: Yes or no?”

On that response, Junkrat did not utter another word and only agreed, nodding eagerly.

”Right then! Grab your hat and anything else you need, pack the rest of those sweet bags into mine and swing your prosthetics! I already have an idea what we’ll do with the rest of the snacks. You’ll see, once we made it! Only a smooth passage to take and we’re there!”

It soon turned out to be the case, however, that Mei had underestimated the overall situation - and that utterly.

”Well, well, well... A smooth passage... Ye don’t say...” Junkrat hissed into her ear on the subway in a cynical manner.

When he found himself and her surrounded by Anti-Omnic-Protesters and their hate-filled signs, he _knew_ that he could trust his gut feeling on absolutely _anything_.


	5. Ice and Rubble to the Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,
> 
> as promised, here is the most recent story update for this week's Sunday!
> 
> Before the story continues, I would like to thank everyone of you for almost 500 hits on my story, the ones of you who leave lovely comments constantly - and especially, the big wave of kudos coming in last week from several guests and AO3 users! It makes me so happy to see that you liked the previous chapter in particular, or maybe even the story as a whole.
> 
> This Thank You also goes out to all the people on Tumblr who have left behind likes and reblogs on the links to the individual chapters! It's all greatly appreciated and I look forward to eventually seeing more of your comments, feedbacks and messages in my inbox!
> 
> Regarding Notes and Special Thanks on the story, a collection of all the ones applying to it in its entirety can be found before Ch. 1. So far, there are no further additions to be made.
> 
> I hope you'll get to enjoy reading, keep creating and have a great start into the new week, everybody!  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Junkrat’s company did her best to not give in to those provocations. Along with several old and new recruits, Mei had decided to open up another secret base long ago, right in the heart of the trouble spot King’s Row - especially in regards to their most recent task. It was only a matter of time, until she would find herself thrown into a situation like this. She was fully aware of that, but still cursed the fact that these raging ruffians could not have chosen any other day for their riot, apart from the one where all Overwatch recruits were as split up and far away from one another as possible.

”I don’t like this.... I don’t like this one bit”, Mei began a hasty rummaging around in her bag, hoping to find her communicator, “What’s it gonna be _this_ time?”

She could not stand the shady looks of those people any longer, squashing themselves together in the tightest space, only to break free like a wild horde and destroy all that was in their way. However, there must be a logical explanation for this.

Never before had that orange emergency light such a releasing impact on her. With a quick movement of her hands, she had already put one small plug into her ear and gave Junkrat an unsuspicious wave, to come closer and join in for listening to the message through the other.

_||| Cheers, love! |||_

“The cavalry’s here!” Junkrat finished Tracer’s signature line in a mocking tone. 

It did not even take Mei a second to make a warning grab for his arm, pull him closer and hiss through her teeth: “ _Psst! Listen!_ ” She could hardly wait for the answers to her questions.

_||| Mei, I’m on my way to the center right now. Your communicator is turned off, but should you be on the same course, for which reason whatsoever: Be warned... |||_

Tracer’s voice came to an abrupt pause. Mei could firmly see her friend furrowing her brow and giving her a pondering look in front of her inner eye, the moment it happened.

_||| Seriously |||_ the voice message continued _||| If my knowledge of human nature doesn’t deceive me, I’m sure you’re keeping an eye on that ‘Grinny Peach’ of our base attic right now... |||_

Mei could not help but be overcome by guilt as soon as she heard that. She was well aware of how much Tracer appreciated her as a friend and colleague and that she would never mean to scold her for how she decided to spend her day off...but the longer the message went on, the longer it felt like she should forbid herself to push her work aside, even when it was just for a little while, to begin with.

Junkrat’s grin, however, became only wider and more self-satisfied in contrast, once he heard what nickname Mei’s friend had decided to give him. Despite Tracer being unable to see him at this moment, that grin was his way to say ‘ _G’day to you, too!_ ’ to her.

_||| Thanks to Emily, I just got to figure this out a couple of hours ago: They established a new law concerning Omnic rights over here, securing the use of repair stations in the underground of King’s Row for themselves - if only by a slight advance. Not everyone of the human citizens is happy about that, though. It’s not their idea of tax money being well-spent. Now, supporters and protesters alike march onto the streets and it’ll come to a massive debacle - a massive debacle, you can be sure of that! |||_

The junker could only agree with her. He turned his head to Mei, giving her a blunt and quiet answer, instead: “One false move and heads will roll... It’s gonna be a _long_ night...”

_||| Should you be in the underground with somebody, or close by, you’ve gotta get away from there, this instant, and take cover! I can’t estimate, whether they are storming Omnic territory, too, or not. Fact is, that these circumstances will also lure them to the surface, yet again - and that’s just perfect for those furious masses, of course! |||_

Mei pulled her hair all the stronger, the longer she listened to Tracer. She felt like her nervousness was about to do her in. Resistance against such actions needed a lot of careful planning ahead, but that took time... Time which they did not have at this moment.

_||| About the critical situation, though: Don’t cha worry, love! Make sure you’re safe. Winston and I will make this work somehow! We were able to contact Doctor Ziegler - she already had this vague feeling that she wouldn’t get a free day, after all. |||_

A thin-voiced “I’m so sorry...” came out of Mei’s mouth, her face scarred by sorrow.

” _Pfssh!_ Yeah, shame on you, cuz ye can look ahead into the future and _jus’_ happened to know this would happen, roight?” Junkrat huffed under his breath with a serious look on his face. He failed to understand why Mei decided to guilt-trip herself about the unexpected, while no one else blamed her for anything coming to be in the _slightest_.

_||| There are many we couldn’t reach today and we completely understand why. If all else fails, Athena will send off an emergency alarm - whether you turned that thing on or not. I’m just making sure you know! All the best, sis. Keep your chin up! |||_

“ _Don’t cha worry ‘bout that, love!_ ” Mei repeated it to herself in the back of her head.

Easier said than done, once you sat right in the middle. Like a little sparrow, Mei turned from side to side on her seat. She bit her lip, her gaze fixated on the stops screen.

_How long could five, simple minutes be?_

It was a painful sight which had already offered itself to Jamison way more often than he wanted to. All churned up inside, Mei ruffled through her hair, close to tearing up. There were at least twenty different films playing themselves out in her mind, one worse than the other. Completely lost in those horror scenarios, she shook her head in fright and disbelief about what was going to occur today. 

A warm, human hand got a gentle hold of hers, shaking her out of it. She felt Jamison’s warm breath near her ear, hearing his soft whisper: “Talk to me! Yer not helpin’ anybody with keeping all that’s goin’ through yer head to yerself...”

Very right he was.

”...They’re not gonna make it... They’re not gonna make it...” Sitting cheek to cheek with Mei, he finally understood her, “A couple of thousands are going to run onto the streets soon, led by nothing but blind rage and fear. There...” Mei struggled with giving her shocking thoughts a voice and tried to grasp the words she was lacking out of thin air, “There will be casualties... They’re coming from all sides”, she emphasized her point through an inwards-waving gesture of her hands, “How in the world are they supposed to take care of that as a group of _three_?”

Junkrat crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes to slits: “There might be a chance for a full team nearby, would they know where Roadie, Torbs and Rein are havin’ a feast about now...but eh heh...” he bobbed his head with a pained expression, because he could not give her an encouraging conclusion. However, there was absolutely nothing to sugarcoat in regards to situations like these. “If ye think of what I say ‘bout the bots as _harsh_ I...wouldn’t recommend ya spendin’ the evenin’ with _those_ three!”

”I’m sorry, Jamison. I’ve got no faith to put into this...”

”Shouldn’t ye put yer faith in _Tracer_ instead, then?” Junkrat countered in a flash, only earning Mei’s completely baffled expression in response. She could not make sense of how he could make the matter look so easy. 

“The way I got it, ye meant to be all ears to what she has to say”, Jamison could not resist to put a streak of her brown, ruffled hair back behind her ear. Sometimes, exaggerating his point in words or gestures was the only way left to get Mei out of her vicious cycle of worry, “Didn’t she jus’ say she’ll let ye know the second she needs yer help?”

” _Yes_ , but-”

”So, why don’t cha _trust_ her on that, instead of givin’ her a taste of what’s goin’ on inside yer head right now?” Junkrat shrugged and crossed his legs in an easy-going manner. “I’m gonna be honest withja, there ain’t all that much I know about that greased lightning, yet... However, there’s somethin’ I can guarantee ya, though: The two of you are quite even in how much ye care about one another.”

He booped her nose, bringing a knowing smile to Mei’s face. She could not have put it any better than him.

Nobody on the team had looked forward to working together with Mei as much as Tracer had. Contacting her had claimed a lot of courage from Mei. Nevertheless, the two of them found a strong bond and inspiration in one another, through their shared struggles in life and their ways of coping with them.

When countless voices of sadness, injustice and ignorance had continued to speak up near King’s Row around Lena, caused by the loss of one of her greatest role-models, she found a tower of strength in Mei’s messages.

Tracer’s alarm bells sounded all the louder, once Mei and a couple of their colleagues had considered letting the junkers work with them. Lena nourished the most sinister suspicions, especially towards Junkrat, who she did not trust ever since - something that Mei could not blame her for at all.

Losing Mondatta was a hard hit to take for Tracer. Whether she was able to lose _Mei_ as well was something she did not wish to find out. Once she saw equally slim hopes in the junker situation, she had no other choice but to trust Mei’s prior experiences and helpful instinct, either.

However, they could never just simply leave it at that. Someone only had to harm a hair on the head of the first and the second would be on hand right away.

After Mei had realized that, she wrapped the helping hand in hers and shook her head: “You know me a little by now, too, don’t you? I’m sorry, Jamison. I can’t help it.”

Junkrat suppressed an impatient grumbling and gave her a concerned look. He was dead set on pulling Mei out of this devastating swamp of worries she threatened to sink in, but it was not as easy as he hoped for it to be.

”They are about to endure something that will catch them off-guard and I _know_ that...” she let her gaze run over the shady crowd around them for a second. “If only there was a way for me to rid them of some of their work... That would help me a great deal, already... I just can’t go out there and pretend nothing of this is happening!”

With an understanding sigh, Jamison thought it over. He had to go out of his way and accommodate Mei’s wishes, should he wish to not make this day the one she only remembered for clinging to a street lamp, because she lost any feeling in her legs from worrying herself _sick_.

There was only one thing left for Junkrat to do: “...Couldja...at least ‘meet me halfway’, then, snowflake?”

”I know, _I know_ ”, Mei responded in a justifying haste, “I can already imagine why you’re not all too impressed. You don’t have to explain to me twice why you hate Omnics so much and that you will never bend a finger for- _Hey!_ ”

Before she could finish her verbal barrage of sorrow, Junkrat had already pinched her nose in jest between his thumb and index finger, causing Mei to lean back and rub it.

”What was that for?” she asked him, both upset and surprised.

However, Jamison only rested his head on his fist. His explanation was all the more serious than she expected: “That’s the problem, though, Mei. Ye _don’t_ know what this is about - namely yer very own opinion on the matter.”

Mei remained silent, her eyes becoming wider. She was not quite sure what he was getting at.

After a short pause, Junkrat helped her along, responding with a warm smile: “In the long run, we can’t be anyone else but who we _are_ , Mei”, he hoped to calm her down by laying his prosthetic hand on her shoulder. What resounded in her ears afterwards, was the most sincere tone she had heard in Jamison’s voice, yet, when he concluded: “Ye jus’ can’t help bein’ a _people-person_.”

The impression he had gotten of her made Mei speechless. Junkrat had said it with such a serene and earnest look on his face that it almost paralyzed her. It was the case, after all. He _did_ take her seriously. If only for a moment, time stood still in Mei’s head. She longed to have the right words, the right moment to express to him how amazed and glad she was to hear that coming from _him_ , of all people - but all she could do was blink at him and keep a straight face.

With even more ease, Junkrat slammed his hands onto his knees and asked her: “Roight, so what’s the plan?”

Such high expectations shook Mei out of it, almost jumping up in panic.

”You expect that here and now? Straight out of the blue?” she whispered back at him.

”Sure! An impromptu rescue plan in around...” Junkrat took a closer look at the stops screen, “Let’s say three minutes - for ol’ time’s sake!” he gave her a challenging grin.

That only nourished Mei’s disbelief: “Why do you think that I’ll be able to wrap my head around one so fast?”

”Do ya have another choice, should ye choose to do what feels roight fo’ ya?” Junkrat fired a rhetorical question right back at her, his smile becoming all the more confident.

As much as she hated to admit it, Mei had experienced often enough how helpful it had been to her, every time Jamison had done this. Had he not cornered her in many discussions before like he did it now, she would have struggled with simply charging into a problem and taking it head-on a whole lot more. On her own, Mei had problems with distancing herself from the extra careful and risks-decreasing approaches she preferred and was used to - but sometimes such methods would simply not prove to be effective.

What she did not know, however, was that the thankfulness for a different point of view was _mutual_. As often as Mei’s way of handling things had proven to be not the best way to take for them, it had given Junkrat quite a few diverse outlooks on matters that he was able to make the most of quickly and had never gotten to consider by spontaneous choices alone. Thus, he gladly helped Mei to restore the balance between their inherently different selves.

Noticing how this was what he tried to achieve, Mei decided to give it a try: “How am I supposed to figure out, whether it even works, though?”

”Oh, I dunno...” Jamison stated, adding a shrugging gesture of his prosthetic hand, “Naturally, I can only speak for meself, when I say... I’m trustin’ me gut more than anythin’ else...” he gave it several light, emphasizing slaps. “After all, it’s about the _only_ part o’ me that still good as intact, haha!”

”Trust your gut, huh...” Mei repeated silently, considering it and not getting riled up by his cynical joke in the slightest.

”Once yer head quits on ya and all nerves are raw, it’s yer gut's turn, luv”, Junkrat nodded in certainty - only to feel his face derail in shock at _what_ he had just let slip right afterwards.

Luckily, Mei did not seem to have caught up on it the way he did. She was far too busy grumbling to herself and overcoming what held her back, her cheeks leaning on her fists.

In the end, she took heart and shared her thoughts with Junkrat: “I’m...in a bit of a conflict with myself, you know? On the one hand, I think it’s important that the Omnics get new opportunities to take a stand for themselves around here”, Mei emphasized her point through a demonstrative gesture of her hands to one of her knees, quickly repeating it on the other, “However, they’re getting themselves into a fight, which they simply can’t win, against those raging mobs. The more peaceful they wish to take a stand for their rights, the more aggressive their enemies will be. So, what I mean to say is, on the other hand, it might be better to defuse the conflict by not even offering them the danger of things escalating in that manner...”

”Why, wouldja look at that? Looks like we have a basis to share!” Junkrat agreed with her. “I don’t want any of those tin cans up there, either. I think they’re doin’ quite fine in the underground.”

”We can’t leave those ruffians down here with them, however”, Mei added in an instant, “That would be like volunteering to be thrown into a cage with lions.

”Oh, with those unpredictable, iron-paddled, Batteresian hypocrites, that’s a _given_! There ain’t many people I’d wanna expose to that.”

” _Jamison!_ ”

Mei growled back at him, grabbing him by the arm.

While Junkrat assured her with a fast “Okay, okay, bad joke, bad timin’, no need to erupt...” that he was only pulling her leg, Mei knew that this was not entirely true. Firstly, this was his honest opinion on Omnics and secondly, under these dire circumstances, it simply was no joke to make - but there was no time to get fed up with that now.

Due to their recent discussion, Mei continued to hold Jamison back by the arm, until every other passenger got out before them at their final destination. Securing their safety distance with this, the two of them continued to come up with a plan.

Trying to follow the mob as unsuspiciously as possible, Jamison whispered to Mei: “Let someone who caused a riot or two on his own tell ya in good trust: _They ain’t here to rid themselves of the bots_.”

Hearing this, she could only return a skeptical look. Mei was uncertain how Junkrat could be so sure of that.

”Put it this way”, he tried to explain himself, catching up on her doubts, “Hadn’t they taken care of what they despise so much _years ago_ in this tunnel o’ shame, should they wish for the scrappies to be gone at any price? Why would they wait for the enemy to gain an actual _advantage_ , instead?”

”...That’s _true_...”

”See?” he pointed at her, happy to have opened her eyes, as they kept walking, “The only thing _they_ care about is goin’ _completely bonkers_ in the heart of the city. After all, those endeared camera enthusiasts are s'posed to save it all for the future, so that some babble suits on the big screens can take it apart in the most melodramatic way possible on the news! We all know the rooster makes its way to the highest dung heap to crow - not the deepest mud hole.”

Hearing how mocking his tone became, once Junkrat had begun to rant about the people of the media, Mei could only let out a tired laugh: “Didn’t you say the _Omnics_ were the hypocrites just a minute ago?”

”I sure did, but how does that possibly contradict the other?”

Junkrat responded with a calm smirk.

”Don’t mess with me, Mei, ye couldn’t pretend to be the type to see it all in black and white, even if ye tried - _ye wouldn’t stick around with me if ye were_!”

Mei’s laugh changed upon Jamison’s final singsong, making her seem all the more set on confronting him in this debate: “No, you got that right. I refuse to adapt to such a way of thinking”, she raised her head with a composed, superior certainty, “However, I know just as well that you’d be somewhere further away, screaming ‘ _Fire in the hole!_ ’ and celebrate bolts and metal flying - _if only I would not get in the way by sticking around!_ ”

Junkrat returned the provoked laughter, the moment he realized how she mimicked him. He kept his cool, nevertheless: “Again, what is that tryin’ to prove? That I ain’t one of ‘em by, as you said jus’ now, distancin’ meself from the mob? Ye sure got that roight, too, if that’s what yer goin’ for.”

”Isn’t the only thing that separates you from them the fact that the cops would consider you a ‘ _VIP_ ’ at the ‘party’, though?” Mei finally dared to drop the bomb.

”Similar _thinkin’_ doesn’t always bring together similar _people_ , snowflake”, Jamison closed his eyes and shook his head, “Shouldn’t you know best as a scientist, workin’ with soldiers, doctors, a DJ and heck, even _monkeys_?”

While Mei had no reason to object to his point, she still demanded the respect which got lost in Jamison’s exaggeration: “Winston is _another_ scientist - an exceptional one at that _and_ a hero, thank you very much!”

”That too, by profession, roight, let’s keep it fair”, he acknowledged her indirect request with a friendly nod, “Anyhoo, make no mistake on shovelin’ me on the same pile as _those_ drongos up ahead, ya hear? I said it once, I’ll say it again: I consider myself a _freedom fighter_ \- a....misunderstood one... Can’t say the same ‘bout them, though...” 

”A distinction you make by what reason exactly, if that’s okay of me to ask?”

Mei pressed him on the matter in sincere interest.

”Because they don’t care about the danger comin’ from those pieces of junk!” Jamison answered, pressing his lips together in disgust. “They’re nothing but pseudo-resistance - _wannabes_ , Mei. Only known for being brazen, should they be rewarded with any sort of validation and group membership for it”, he gave her a serious look, pointing with his head in their direction. “ _They_ couldn’t care less about makin’ a change. Lettin’ off some steam, only to return somewhere nice an’ warm to their favourite TV show on time and shovelin’ in a family package of barbecue crisps at once, now _that’s_ their kind of usual evening!”

They had made their way to the stairs, slowly leading them upwards.

However, Mei mulled over Junkrat’s explanations with a gloomy look on her face, fixating her gaze to the ground: “It’s so sad to know that this overall impression might isn’t even that far away from the truth for a lot of them...and even sadder to see how some treat these world-changing matters like nothing but another hobby...”

On that notion, Junkrat snipped his fingers, continuing to point at her eagerly: “There it is - best way to put it!” he liked Mei’s summary of the problem so much that he simply had to put yet another log on the fire.

He raised his brow, leaning towards her and whispering into her ear: “However, that’s somethin’ none of ‘em will admit to... After all, it would be a damn shame, should those horrible tin cans be blasted outta existence... Would mean they’d have to dedicate themselves to something different that wouldn’t allow em to get to know so many by stickin’ around in the massive stream, requirin’ no effort whatsoever.”

Mei gasped. That remark had finally given her a fruitful thought: “That’s it! Splitting the stream and decreasing the turmoil is a striking step into the right direction.”

”Haha! Meanin’ to say yer desires pull ya towards way-blockin’ mechanisms?”, Junkrat laughed, who brought them to an abrupt stop by positioning himself in front of her, laying his hands on his hips and smirking with confidence.

That question caused her eyes to widen: “... _You didn’t-_ ”

”Ye bet yer peachy hamster cheeks I did! I got everythin’ ya need”, he unzipped his leather jacket, letting Mei inspect what it hid inside.

Of course he had. He was Jamison ‘Junkrat’ Fawkes.

Mei eyed one of the well-secured concussion mines after another.

”I can even be rather creative with those on request!” Junkrat continued, treating her like an earnest customer for his work, “Make it stick once, make it stick a dozen times, it only takes one push of a button and we’ll get this party started!”

” _But please,_ anywhere else but here!” Mei shrieked, instantly covering her mouth in fear that she could have drawn someone’s attention to them. “Should you seriously make the underground station collapse and endanger everyone, you’ll get to know me!” she came closer, huffing at him, “You’ll get to know me in a way that’ll make you wish you’d never gotten to know me _at all_!”

For his own defense, Jamison tried to calm her down by hasty waves of his hands: “S-sure ain’t what I was goin’ for! I guess blockin’ _that_ way off is somethin’ we should leave to...oh, I dunno...” he exaggerated his pondering with a drum roll of his fingers against his lips, until he finally directed Mei’s gaze to her own bag, “Yer little assistant, perhaps? That mobile _ice age simulator_ o’ yours that ye never leave the house without... y’know...after tellin’ _me_ I should give comin’ here _unarmed_ a chance?”

”... _Touché_...” Mei could only answer quietly. She shook her head and admitted defeat, at least regarding her demand to do without something she was not willing to follow up on herself.

”No worries, though!” now Junkrat leaned towards her, all the friendlier, “Ye might have no jumpin’ through time to rely upon, but yer uncontested on the ice. Why don’t cha use yer orientation skills and block every single molehill that would seem useful for those cheese heads real quick?”

It was a suggestion that made her smile and look forward to translating it into action.

“That’s a solution ya should be able to live with, I believe”, he concluded by her facial expression, “It’ll be impossible for those still comin’ to get further in, but they’ll definitely be able to get further out.”

”Sure thing!” Mei responded with creative enthusiasm. “I promise you to hurry up with it and not leave you alone for too long, as well.”

However, Jamison only giggled to himself and pulled out his self-made release switch: “Nonsense! I’m supposed to be twiddlin’ thumbs in the meantime? Forget about it! I’m gonna help ye by separatin’ the middle!”

”Your approach is anything but silent, though”, she bit her lip, “What are you going to do, should you get caught red-handed and are put through the mill?”

” _Meiheyheyheyhey..._ ” he only patted her shoulder doughtily and laughed, “Roadie and I have already helped ourselves to the crown jewels over here. Not even that brought us down. Go roight ahead an’ chill out yer life! Y’know that by now: _Bad weeds grow tall!_ I’m, without a doubt, an expert when it comes to this. Everythin’ I need is a nice, comfy backstreet and some good mood and I shall let me magic work. Yer seein’ that?” he gently turned her to the side, pointing upwards right over her shoulder, in order to fixate her gaze onto the building connections in the distance, “Such ol’ gates, bridges or walls, well...ye can _repair_ those over time. With _people_ however, that proves to be a lil more difficult.”

He winked at her and they both went separate ways. With these steps, Mei experienced something that she had never believed in so far. For the very first time, she felt strengthened through Junkrat as her mission partner, rather than beset.”

She had to make that known to him at all costs, even while running backwards: “You better don’t trip up on this one! I believe in you!”

”There’s the rub”, she heard him calling back to her, “I’m doin’ this for you, not for them”, gaining new courage, Mei watched Junkrat turn the corner.”

Through their specialties, both of them made a great effort, leaving not a single gap unattended. With every passage closed, Mei’s heart became a little lighter. She contributed her part, according to her job. On top of that, she knew that her friends were not going to be hindered by the blocked paths when it came to completing their own task. Jamison had certainly given her some good advice.

How much of a favour Mei did _him_ with her good nature at the same time, she could not guess in the slightest. He was completely honest about it. For Jamison, it did not stop at a job and passion in regards to explosions. He had become _obsessed_ with them. Seeing the rubble fly into all possible directions and hearing one bang after another from afar brought an extraordinary kind of satisfaction that only he could understand.

Perhaps, he just imagined it, because of his wishes for today, but Junkrat got the feeling that he finally had succeeded at doing a good deed for Mei.

The local tower clock confirmed it. There was still enough time to attend to what they were actually here for - without half-hearted compromises and without regrets. Of course, the bigwigs would cry over the damaged caused by him, yet again. So they should! Eventually, those caught throngs could give them something to think about for a change...if only eventually.

Today, quite a few things happened that they had not expected. It came to be all by itself, for better or worse. Never before, the two of them had been this happy to be together again.

He had never seen her face beam with joy as much as it did in the moment she got another glimpse of him.

She had never been so relieved to hear his voice.

They ran towards each other, waving and being equally excited that their plan had worked.

”Oh, thank goodness!” Mei sighed with relief, once she found Junkrat standing in front of her. “I’m so glad that you didn’t get into trouble!”

He took it lightly, crossing his arms and raising a brow.

”Why fear that I would?” Jamison asked. “It’s rather well-known that I’m not doin’ this for the first time!” He turned around, convincing himself of the results of his work. “They’ll have somethin’ to munch on for way longer than they want to with _this_ kind of disaster!”

It surprised Jamison to see Mei asking to get a hold of his hands all of a sudden, gently pulling them towards herself, in order to get him to bend down to her. She wanted to tell him something face to face: “Jamison...thank you, _so_ , so much for letting me do this!” She tapped her feet with excitement. “You can’t possibly imagine, what your earnest help today means to me!”

Junkrat tried to wave the praise away, feeling flattered: “Nah! No need to thank me.”

”Yes, there is!” Mei insisted with a sincere smile and looked into his eyes. “I know...exactly how difficult it is to listen for me, the moment I side with the Omnics... Especially after all you had to put up with and the problems that arose for us, because of it all...” Becoming more nervous, her voice quieted down again, as she looked downwards.

In fact, she was not sure, whether it was good to bring this point up again. Trusting her gut, as Junkrat had recommended it to her, made her feel like this was all the more necessary, though. Mei thus decided to carry on, regaining eye contact with Jamison: “I would have understood you simply leaving me behind, because of that...or...or at least waiting for me, until I take care of this myself.”

Meanwhile, he had no intention of interrupting her. Junkrat did not make a move, giving her all the time she needed.

”Instead, you _did_ really ‘meeting me halfway’!”

She was able to see it clearly. Something changed in Jamison’s face through her thankfulness. For her, there was an entirely new smile. It seemed hesitant and soft. Something that knew its origin in something else than cheekiness and mischief.

Before she knew it, Mei sensed Jamison’s thumb, gently stroking her cheek, as he let out a quiet, embarrassed laugh: “Why, of course... That’s what I’m here for, after all... So! Right on!” He remembered what they had been looking forward to all this time, causing him to get a hold of Mei’s shoulders and shaking her in anticipation. “Yer ready to _enjoy yerself_?”

”You bet I am!” she indulged in the suspense and serenity that she got to feel so rarely. “Lead the way!”

\---------------

During their entire walk through King’s Row Mall, Mei almost kept spinning around herself. Usually, she only ran to work through this massive building as fast as she could, to use it as a shortcut. It was the first time that she paid attention to everything around her here.

Artists, acrobats and musicians came together in between the little rest places, masses of stories and lively faces. Giant, glowing orbs gathered together at the hall ceiling throughout the entire mall, almost like a comet’s tail. The old met the new, while goodbyes stumbled across reunions. On several floors, in the stream of the masses, the spirit of the times and town’s history became visible, from antiques shops to piano houses and even from dream capsules to head-sized cookies on sticks. So much happened around them that it became difficult to notice all of it.

There was an entire list of things, which Mei had to take a closer look at with the next opportunity offering itself to her. She was certain of it. Perhaps, she could even convince Junkrat to come along. However, Mei did not count Roadhog in, too, just now, despite her hoping that she would not be forced to go without him next time, after all. Those masses rushing into all directions had a negative impact on his mood. It made her all the more determined to look for a piglet café, though. These developed into a potential hit, because of the countless relaxing and therapy-giving experiences people were able to gain there along with their curly-tailed friends.

Could she seriously build up the confidence to organize a get-together with Junkrat’s friends at the arcade? Mei could not simply make a start on that, without having practiced there regularly...or was that just too much?

It wasn’t any easier with Lena, too, since Mei was not overly fond of meeting at the pup, going to races or punk rock concerts - but how would she ever be, should she never give that a chance?

Perhaps, it was _her_ who should take after Junkrat for a change. Perhaps, she should go for less thinking through and dedicate herself to more... _spontaneous doing_ , instead.

Funnily enough, it seemed like Mei and Junkrat were the only ones walking around together that indeed did not have much to say to one another. It was unusual, but pleasant. For a while, they did not exchange anything but friendly looks and shy smiles. It was a good kind of silence, which had gotten between them.

Only once Junkrat had his destination in his sights, the loud clapping and celebrating began. Luckily, there were no long queues coming to be right ahead of them. Jamison pressed a banknote into Mei’s hand in a flash and sent her to the snack bar. She was supposed to get the largest bucket of popcorn she spotted for herself, while he guaranteed the showing of the evening.

Just a couple of minutes later, Junkrat almost dropped the tickets, as he had to see how his company nearly _disappeared_

 _behind all the popcorn. In fact, it could not be denied that Mei could hardly see where she was going anymore - but she did not have a clue how long this movie was supposed to be and how much Jamison had wanted for himself. He however did not know that Mei was usually the one taking at least a third of it back home with her._

__

His worries only had a limited effect, when it came to slowing Mei down, since she assured him with pride that them working together would make it impossible for her to fall. Junkrat was far too tall to be overlooked and she only had to peek out at the sides every now and then to watch her step. Thus, Jamison directed Mei to their seats until the very end.

__

At first, a big inrush still did not happen in the hall, making an inviting middle open up to them. It had seemed not possible to him just a couple of hours ago, but finally, Junkrat was able to press down the seat for Mei and let her take it.

__

There they were. Her with the massive bucket between her knees, the salty munchies almost reaching her chin, and him without a single care in the world lurking in the back of his head.

__

”Wouldja believe it? We’re _sittin’_! Perfect!” Junkrat cheered, shaking his fist triumphantly.

__

He seized the opportunity, let out a loud yawn and stretched his arms and legs across _three_ of the seats in the rows around him, until he was able to stare at the hall ceiling.

__

The moment she saw that, Mei gently pinched him in the side: “Stop that! This isn’t your sofabed!”

__

”What’s yer deal? There’s hardly anyone around, yet”, he made an sweeping gesture with his hand to all the empty seats surrounding them, emphasizing his point, “I’m jus’ takin’ five and that’s about it. No matter how determined ye are to get things done, breaks are important”, on that note, Junkrat turned to her with a serious look on his face, “I’d understand you not bein’ too impressed, had I slammed me boot into somebody else’s nachos, or dellin’ someone’s nose, while stretching out me arms...but for _that_?”

__

Mei only let out a resigned sigh, shaking her head.

__

_”Simply leave things be. Let Junkrat be Junkrat. Nothing’s on fire, yet” _, she thought to herself.__

 _ _ ____

For a moment, she slid further down into her seat and rested her eyes. With testing touches, Mei’s hand made her way through her bag to the left.

______

She had packed them, after all - both of them. Was this seriously the right moment, though? Was it nothing more than a _ridiculous_ idea in the end? She sent a questioning look down to Snowball. Until now, he had kept her biggest secret cool. 

______

The little drone only narrowed its glowing visor eyes.

______

_”What are you waiting for, Mei?”_ Snowball seemed to ask her.

______

After all, force of habit did not defeat itself. Take a deep breath and get to it!

______

”...Jamison?” Mei began without turning towards him. “Is it...okay, if I bother you for a bit?”

______

Junkrat had barely heard her question and already swang himself back onto his seat, “As if ye bother me! There’s no need to be that excessively polite!” He sat up properly and leaned towards her, once more cheek to cheek and ready for her shy voice. “Roight, snowflake, where’s the fire?”

______

It was only then that the junker noticed that something was not right about her. Mei was unable to look at him. Her gaze was fixated on her hands, instead, clenching up into fists, until her knuckles turned white.

______

With caution, Jamison tried to get a glimpse of her face through her thick head of hair. There was something cooking. Mei was busy rolling her dry lips around. They almost disappeared completely in her bright red face.

______

”...Yer doin’ alright?” he asked quietly. “Yer a perfect candidate for a box on the to _mei_ to market, if this goes on.”

______

An atrocious pun. No reaction whatsoever. So it _was_ serious.

______

”Are you...a lil too warm? Is that it?” Junkrat scratched his chin and pondered, “I could imagine that to be the case in such a getup, at least. Yer always nicely wrapped, like a little tortilla - only fluffier...”

______

Even a silly joke left her motionless, causing him to grumble and go through all the possibilities he could think of.

______

”Okay, okay, if that ain’t it....got a headache? Feelin’ sick? Worry backlash? Allergic to plastic armrests?” the more he noticed that he was moving even further away from the right track, the more concerned he became - especially because Mei flat out refused to tell him what was up with her, “Ah, darn, that ain’t it, _either_? Are ye simply dehydrated? Lemme jump back real quick and-”

______

“No, no...” she objected quietly, pulling him back towards her, “You...you don’t have to do that...”

______

If only she could tell him that it felt like a little bit of _everything_ he had mentioned - well, except for the plastic allergy.

______

Mei was so worried about what she meant to do, that her worries gained the upper hand. The only way to escape this was to finally let it happen.

______

”Please...just stay here. I... I’ve got you something”, she lifted her index finger in a forewarning manner.

______

Junkrat’s curious eyes followed her fingers all the way down to her bag - until it reappeared and pressed a cold, blue Styrofoam box into his hands.

______

”Whoo!” The sudden chill took him by surprise, “Now, that’s what I call a frosty jack-in-the-box!” Junkrat began to shake it. Nothing inside of it rustled in return, though. 

______

Mei adjusted her hair nervously: “It isn’t that mean. Nothing’s gonna jump at you.”

______

He kept up the suspense a little longer and wiggled his eyebrows in an asking manner. Only upon hearing Mei whisper “Open it.”, Junkrat did as he was told. Despite this happening in slow motion, while Jamison peered through the tiny, slowly opening gap, only to shut it all the faster.

______

Slow and steady, he turned his head to Mei. Junkrat looked like he had just opened a sarcophagus and, in contrast to all his expectations, had found a mummy in it that happened to be still alive. He turned back again, assuring himself of his suspicion to be true, then closed the box a second time, hid his face in his hands and took a deep breath.

______

Pressing his mouth against the palms of his hands, he made it difficult for Mei to understand him: “Yer dreamin’ ... _Yer dreamin’!_ That can’t be... I-it simply can’t be!”

______

Junkrat spread some of his fingers apart, to get a better look at Mei. She seemed to be absolutely clueless. Her facial features could not decide what to make of Junkrat’s reaction. While Mei’s eyes appeared to glow in the joy of success, her mouth silently gasped for air, ready to apologize at any second.

______

” _I-I-I’m sorry, but-_ ” slamming his hands against his cheeks and pulling them downwards, Junkrat let out an embarrassed groan.

______

He did not mean to leave Mei in the unsettling dark about his thoughts, as he had experienced it just a minute ago - let alone stutter, causing him to sound worse than any _mountain goat_ possibly could in his ears. He _hated_ when that happened, since it let everyone around him know that he felt insecure.

______

Knowing that he could not stop it, until he took care of the matter head-on, Jamison tried to start over: “I-I’m sorry to be the broken record here, but... That jus’ can’t be!”

______

”It can, though, Jamison... This is real”, she assured him shyly, “After all, I made it myself”

______

Still in complete disbelief, he reopened the box and looked at one of the large cardboard cups from all sides, which had an all too familiar, in bubbles covered design.

______

”It’s _boba ice cream_ ”, she finally confirmed his assumptions, “Milk tea...half sweet...just the way you like it.”

______

He could press his lips together as tightly as he wanted to. There was no way for Junkrat to suppress his affectionate noises and tears of emotion.

______

”You see, Snowball made sure that we can eat it today”, Mei explained, whereupon her little friend started its affirmative beeping, “No matter what would have happened today, I simply wanted to make sure that we could enjoy this. _We still have a few seconds for boba time!_ ”

______

Meanwhile, Jamison was already busy hugging the still incredibly cold box. He slammed his hand against it several times, convincing himself that it was indeed there.

______

”That’s it...” he concluded, being entirely over the moon, “That’s...that’s the stuff dreams are made of. Must have blown it again! Did me own bombs send me flying with a free ticket to paradise?”

______

” _Ohohohoho_ , pull yourself together!” Mei replied, giving his shoulder some comforting pats.

______

”I _refuse_ to pull meself together! I mean... _look at it_!” Completely overwhelmed, Junkrat could not help but open one of the cups and present Mei’s creation to herself as a fair accomplishment. “You... Yer almost givin’ me a _heart attack_ , an’ you jus’ sit there, all nice and calm, gigglin’ to yerself... Stirrin’ up such intriguing drama all around it and then, in all seriousness, tell _me_ to put meself together? I mean...no? _I can’t?_ That...oh...ohohoho, damn...eh heh...brings _tears_ to me eyes...”

______

She smirked right back at him and mumbled: “It’ll bring tears to your _ice_ more than anything, if you don’t rub ‘em off real quick. You’re making the whole thing salty!”

______

” _Damn it, Mei!_ ” Junkrat yelled, stomping his foot. The awful pun, catching him by surprise, was the finishing stroke.

______

As slowly as the rows around them filled themselves with people, they had gotten the attention of everyone seated so far by being unable to stop laughing.

______

Exchanging a tender look with each other, Junkrat and Mei knew that they felt the same way about the matter. There was an awkward start to it, making them feel embarrassed. However, they _enjoyed_ what was happening now - despite the fact that none of the two could wrap their head around the reasons _why_ things came to be the way they were.

______

Junkrat certainly grew to like it. There was something nice to crying tears of joy, surrounded by Mei’s comforting smile and the gentle strokes of her gloves on his upper arms.

______

_Just what had she done to him?_ From one second to another, she had recuded him to a heavy-breathing, sniveling, tears-fighting mess - in the best possible way - as he struggled to utter a decent sentence.

______

In fact, Mei could not find a reasonable solution to this, either - just like she had no idea of what could have possibly caused the strange feeling that overcame her beforehand. It did not matter for now, though - not if it felt so good. Understanding why Junkrat was deeply moved by such a small, kind gesture was something she could not do, yet, but certainly like in itself. Mei believed to have never seen him more content than he was in the moment her head rested on his shoulder, while she tried to reach both of his arms with her hands for comfort.

______

”It’s... It’s the little things! The little things, I kept tellin’ ya that for so long now!” Junkrat made an attempt to explain it, “I... I haven’t gotten a _bobatunity_ for ages... and I keep hearin’ ye goin’ on about how much ye love ice cream in every calm minute ya have. If that ain’t enough, ya even have the skill to make it yourself!”

______

Mei blushed and looked away. She was not too sure, whether something that seemed so simple to her could be considered worthy of such praise.

______

”I can’t get it into me head... I’m thrilled to bits, knowing ye like boba, too, let alone you wantin’ to share this with me! That’s jus’ too adorable”, he shook his head, wiping the tears off his face, “Eh heh... _Y-You’re_ too adorable...”

______

” _What was that?_ ” Mei demanded to know, since she could entirely understand what Junkrat told her, while moving his hand back and forth over his mouth.

______

”Ah, hold up! I’m...havin’ a moment...” pretending to wait for the impact of his feelings to wear off, Junkrat rested his nose on his knuckles and furrowed his brow, in hopes of dodging her question.

______

Indeed, it happened to work. Mei was convinced that whatever had slipped her ears could not have been important enough to elaborate on. Thus, she rather continued to fuel their shared anticipation: “Anyhow, this is why I told you to bring a few of our earlier snacks along. There are also spoons I brought with me”, she began to look for them in her bag, “Oh, gee, I really hope that will taste as lovely as your thoughts are about it...”

______

”Aww, Mei, ye better believe it... Ye _better_ believe it”, Junkrat kept encouraging her, “Yer only hittin’ the bullseye with somethin’ as good as this. _Xiè xiè!_ ”

______

”...Y-you _remember?_ ” Mei was flabbergasted, the moment Junkrat thanked her in Chinese.

______

For him that went without saying, however: “Definitely! I always catch up on a thing or two with time. Language is s’posed to connect, ain’t it?” He asked her, letting a warm smile follow her agreeing nod.

______

While the other visitors finally entered the hall as talkative crowds, Jamison continued to thank Mei five more times, until she kindly talked him out of it. Surrounded by their mountain chain of tasty treats, they enjoyed the final moments before the movie spectacle.

______

Completely full and satisfied, Jamison sighed and made himself comfortable: “Ah... Who would’ve thought o’ that, snowflake? Everything’s goin’ according to plan for a change... It’s time for the best flicker of the day! Nothing’s gonna stop us from enjoying _this_ newcomer!”

______

He had crowed too soon, however.

______

Junkrat was horrified, once a sharp nail on a thin, boney finger drilled itself into his shoulder’s flesh from behind. It belonged to an old lady with a rather sunken face, who had taken a seat behind them and decided to draw his attention to herself.

______

The tone of her voice was a sheer roller coaster ride: “I’m afraid I’ll have to correct you, good sir. This movie is anything but a ‘newcomer’... I fear that something has caused a misunderstanding here. You’ll hopefully be able to get over it, since the main showing of the day does _not_ necessarily mean it’s the _best_ movie of the current programme”, she gave him a disparaging look, continuing with a sweet voice, “In this case right here, it’s rather the _worst_ movie of the _last year_...well...that’s what the reviews try to tell you, at least...”

______

Seeing the staff shut the doors and dim the lights around them, Junkrat’s shocked face had become so pop-eyed that he feared to sense his eyeballs rolling out of his skull any second now - he certainly felt _overrun_ enough to believe it.

______

”Well, well, that’s all a question of taste”, the woman added, “I consider it to be quite delightful myself. Trust me, I am seeing this for the ninth time now and I always happen to feel a little younger at the end, thanks to how much I’ve enjoyed it!”

______

Then she began to laugh, causing her hanging cheeks to flutter along.

______

At the same time, Mei understood next to none of what this was supposed to imply.

______

Junkrat, however, only twitched and remained silent - until he made a quick grab to the left and pulled what he got into his hands towards him by force, only to slam his face into the popcorn, bury it there and scream into the bucket with all his might.

______

Completely clueless about what was the meaning behind any of this, Mei did not appreciate the old lady’s laughing fit behind them in the slightest, let alone the fact that the two of them had everyone’s full attention now. She could pull the sleeve of Junkrat’s jacket and beg him to quieten down as often as she wanted to. There was no way of stopping him, until he grew tired of it himself.

______

As quickly as it was over and done with, Mei still would not stop to watch out for potential staff members from all sides that could come their way to kick them out, before everything went entirely dark.

______

Finally, the showing began. The quality of the movie’s content definitely was more than questionable, proving that the woman’s description had not been exaggerated, after all.

______

Nevertheless, quite a lot of the spectators could not deny that they were in stitches long before the preceding commercials that day. It had nothing to do with the commercials themselves, but rather with that large, poor devil, next to the small, bespectacled lady, trying desperately to free himself from the itching grains of salt stuck in his nostrils.

______


	6. Remarkable Hospitality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers,
> 
> sorry about the delay, but here is another chapter for the story. With this being added, two thirds of the entire story are done!
> 
> Since the next two chapters will be similar in length and detail and I have a lot to work on university-wise as well, it certainly can happen that I will take a little more time to get back to you all with chapter seven - however, it will definitely be added as soon as it's ready!
> 
> I thank you all kindly for all the kudos and comments on this story, for almost 550 hits and especially, for the two bookmarks that the story has received! I feel sincerely honoured that my work could be considered worth keeping in a collection or to get back to later on by the users who did that! As usual, I am looking forward to all your potential feedback!
> 
> Regarding Notes and Special Thanks on the story, a collection of all the ones applying to it in its entirety can be found before Ch. 1. So far, there are no further additions to be made.
> 
> I hope you'll get to enjoy reading, keep creating and continue to have a nice, or maybe better, week from now on, everyone!  
> ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Before they could get used to the bright lights of the halls again, Mei and Junkrat had already witnessed a spectacle, which had left them speechless. It had not been all about breathtaking music, fast-paced action scenes, worlds with atmosphere, symbols worth of admiration or witty conversations - as it definitely would have been the case in a film starring Olivia Rai. Over the course of the last two hours, both of them had figured out, instead, that Santa and the Prince of Darkness were only two changes of letter positions apart and why striving for world domination through exacting revenge on humanity, by the help of _genetically manipulated Christmas trees_ , of all things, was a condition beyond good and evil.

Humour as well as the plot had been downright ridiculous, making the movie so bad that this fact in itself seemed to make it brilliant again. Nevertheless, they agreed on the film being horrible. Even Mei was unable to deny that, despite having laughed herself to tears. Unfortunately, it was not the crown of movie entertainment, though. It was no self-igniter, like the sequel to ‘ _Six Gun Killer_ ’, without a doubt, was - a film humanity would continue to praise for decades to come.

They barely had made it back out to the resting places, when Mei ran ahead to the giant information screen. Every visitor was always up to date at a half an hour pace here about everything, from flights to global happenings. Hoping to find proof of their preparatory work’s quality, which Junkrat and her had done this day, she stood on her toes and stretched herself towards the news logo with a mesmerized stare.

_||| “Welcome to ‘Row Now’ at six with Karin Shabel. Flaming hot, or rather breaking news on slippery ice: What is going on in the streets of our city? Instead of letting the police separate the fronts of the most recent riot, caused by the newly established Omnic rights, the city decided to interfere on its own - if only with some of the most bizarre methods imaginable.” |||_

Mei did not even think about restraining her joy about what she got to see, the moment the studio view switched to the recordings for the report. Never before had she come to enjoy her efforts, let alone the remains of Junkrat’s destructive actions, being shared with a watching world - and at this very moment, she could not care less about any passerby giving her a disbelieving look for her happiness about a good deed.

_||| “The angered mob finds itself split apart in the underground’s network, having turned into a maze. Every single path that leads into the heart of the city on the surface has been covered by a thick layer of ice for hours by now - but even the way back for the riot through the housing areas to the center turns out to be equally confusing. Several of the easiest and most commonly used paths of the historic downtown of King’s Row have been blocked by enormous amounts of rubble, which seemed to have been caused by a series of explosions, which all appear to have sparked off at the same moment in time. One can assume that the protesters will spend all night with reuniting and beginning their march anew. Currently, any potential clues to the cause of this strange state of affairs are still about to be gathered.” |||_

_”Alright!”_ Mei thought to herself, clenching her fist. Seeing that their hard work had provided the help that she had envisioned for her colleagues was quite relieving for her.

_||| “Meanwhile, eyewitnesses reported the services of prior Overwatch veteran and visionary Lena ‘Tracer’ Oxton, trying her best, alongside medicine legend Doctor Angela Ziegler, to get the, now far smaller than expected, quarrels under control and take care of casualties. Exact numbers are in progress and estimated to increase in regards to the persistence of the people involved.” |||_

The climatologist’s eyes widened, once she spotted her two friends in the recordings, who first looked at the bizarre obstacles in the center and then gave a knowing smile to what the helicopter cameras had managed to zoom in on. Only the two heroes could know who they meant to direct that content expression at, whereupon Mei tapped her feet in celebration.

_||| “In order to prevent escalations in the near future, even new obstacles are about to be positioned right now. At the bus station, a giant go-... Guys, you can’t be serious... I know, you want to deliver shocker stories to the audience here and everyone looks forward to a commission, but...a giant gorilla? Knocking over massive double-deckers, to build a wall at a protester gathering point? Are you serious?” |||_

_”Deary me, couldn’t that rather be said about you, not thinking this can wait, until they turn off the cameras?”_ Mei thought with a straight face, shaking her head about how much the newscaster decided to not only belittle her own teammates, but also her rather extraordinary friend, meaning so much to her.

_||| What? I’m supposed to look at the pictures... W-why that is... Unbelievable, it is a giant gorilla! Anyways, we shall return to the most recent news on international issues and traffic situations - right after the weather! ||| ___

____

”Winston...” At the sight of her treasured colleague’s immense power, an entire mountain chain fell off of Mei’s heart. Her very personal _Sun Wukong_ was in top shape, as usual.

____

While the weather report came on, Junkrat had caught up with Mei. He joined her in front of the big screen, grinning triumphantly with his hands folded behind his head: “Why, isn’t it a mystery... Who _are_ those miracle workers, turnin’ the entire city upside down by their own hands, anyways?”

____

”Gee, if only I knew!” Mei played along and shrugged. “Too bad that they couldn’t even catch a glimpse of them...” She snorted with laughter. “We are simply too darn good!”

____

Insisting on a fist bump with him, after an enthusiastic “Defense heroes! _Whoo!_ ”-shout, left Junkrat at a loss for words.

____

”...Oi... _Oi!_ ” he was not able to utter anything else in his complete bewilderment.

____

In what kind of rad fever dream was he stuck in, showing him Mei _celebrating_ their teamwork?

____

She laughed.

____

Mei was so happy, like there was nothing she would rather do.

____

No matter what had caused it, Junkrat wished for it to last as long as possible - at all costs.

____

As it was usual for the junker ever so often, though, fate decided to fire a heavy load of bad luck after him, every time he felt fine. He noticed that all too quickly, once the traffic news came on. The cool wetness had caused its common, slippery troubles on the roads that surrounded the area, letting a horrible accident come to be soon after. Now, there was no fast way to get from King’s Row to the farthest sides of London - at least not unless the damage had come undone and one disregarded those wasp nests of protesters to avoid.

____

Thinking about it made Jamison realize that yet another, even his _final_ plan for today had been disrupted: “Ah, crud! Sure! Smashin’, absolutely smashin’!” He raised his arms towards the ceiling, letting his gaze follow them, only to grit his teeth and run his fingers through what was left of his hair in rage. “ _Why_ in the world should it possibly _not_ end on a sour note?”

____

”I know, right?” Mei nodded at him, “Every year around the same time, it’s also the same trouble on the roads, but still no one bothers to be more careful while driving or to develop something to prevent it! Why would they to begin with?” she let out a sarcastic, tired laugh and carried on in a passive-aggressive tone, “Nothing of importance, after all - only securing other people’s safety...”

____

”That’s not what I was gettin’ at, though, Mei”, Junkrat whined with a pained expression, fearing to be misunderstood as insensitive, the moment he answered her.

____

Nevertheless, Mei understood that she had made the mistake and decided to focus on Jamison’s concern, instead: “Sorry for standing on the hose, Jamison... What _were_ you getting at, then?”

____

”Well...I was about to invite ya for dinner, but I settled on a place for it that would require us to take the path that jus’ happens to be blocked now!” he made a sweeping gesture towards the screen with both of his hands. “Heck, it’ll probably be _midnight_ , before we’ll get there, if were lucky!” Junkrat’s voice cracked, still in unexplainable anger.

____

Apparently, _something_ that a human mind could not possibly comprehend seemed to rub in the slogan ‘ _Life hates you._ ’ into his face with all its smugness at any given chance, so there was no way he would ever dare to forget it.

____

”What am I even expectin’ by now?” Jamison grumbled to himself, hiding his face inside his turtleneck’s collar, all the way up to his nose. He could not make Mei feel even worse in return, by letting her catch up on those nasty thoughts - or him letting everyone around them know by blowing his top. “Why would things ever _work_? Why would they _ever_?”

____

In contrast, his company did not see a single reason for moping about in knowing that they would have to make a change of plans: “Ha! How lucky we are to be stuck in a place that’s almost a metropolis of its own! We _will_ be able to find something suitable for us - I’m sure of it!” she tried to cheer him up, wishing to tuck her arm into his. “What do you think about us going for your so-called ‘sniffin’ about’, until we are hungry enough and decide where to go? There must be something that will catch our eye!”

____

Letting her link arms with him, Jamison pulled down his collar and let out an annoyed sigh: “What other choice do we have? Fine, havin’ a look around is for free, after all... As long as ye don’t lose yer appetite, because the stuff on yer plate still _moves_ , I don’t mind...but no further objections on the costs, ya hear?” he leaned towards her, shaking his head. “It’s on me today!”

____

Mei could not help but take a quick breath to object, since she considered that offer anything but fair.

____

Junkrat did not let her, though: “Should ye really wish to make it up to me in some way, go roight ahead and choose a place where you’ll be sure to find somethin’ where you’ll be able to eat yer fill, okay?” 

____

She promised him with a nod and they got going. The silence between them was the complete opposite of what they had enjoyed on their way to the cinema. Mei could feel the tension in the air. Furthermore, it unsettled her how Jamison was willing to do her all sorts of favours - only to exclude himself from being treated equally well. In fact, she would have preferred to split the costs and find something that he could sincerely enjoy, but sensing how enraged he was, Mei decided not to dig deeper into it for his own good.

____

Feeling her fingers tighten around his arm, Junkrat knew that she would have loved to comfort him and remove the heavy weight he felt hanging from his neck in an instant. No matter how long it would take him to express what bothered him, she would be ready to help - and he appreciated that a lot.

____

However, there were certain things that made Jamison quite cautious about engaging in conversations, which had to do with his feelings - one of them being the inability to even _force_ himself to smile. Whenever he could not find a way to laugh his concerns right in the face, he knew that he was better off making sense of his thoughts all by himself. As sorry as Jamison was to make Mei share this unsettling feeling, he would rather continue to fight what troubled him, once he could figure out exactly _what_ he fought against.

____

Thus, Mei decided to keep her chin up and spread positivity that was good enough for two. After all, now was just the right moment to keep their eyes open for a chance of getting their old and new friends something from their small trip.

____

Junkrat and Mei strolled around for a little while, until they reached the East exit, leading to the bus station, where the rain in front of the doors seemed to pour down like a waterfall. Even here people gathered around in the most unusual ways. On the ground calling, blogging, working, or somewhere squished in below tiny tree areas with their noodle boxes, because there was no free bench in sight, everyone tried to sit tight. Thanks to Winston’s great effort and the unfortunate weather conditions, many of them were forced to wait for a compensatory bus or another a way back home.

____

After the two of them had made their way up on the moving stairs to the next floor, Mei felt good vibes from what she sighted up ahead. A swirling of voices and laughter came to be right in front of them. Dishes and beer mugs clinked together in a colourful flow of shining cloths, lanterns and lucky animals made out of porcelain, which she could spot through the windows. Behind the curtains, all those dark shades of red and brown made an elegant, but not a posh impression. It was a rather busy, but still cosy-seeming place.

____

”Jamison...how do you feel about this one?” she asked him, pointing towards the open door. “Are you hungry enough to give it a shot, yet?”

____

For a moment, Junkrat considered it and cocked his head, giving the establishment a critical look: “...’ _The Magic Lamp_ ’...huh... So, that’s where ye feel like eatin’?”

____

”Is there a problem with that?” Mei turned towards him with a sad expression, feeling sorry to have made a suggestion that did not leave Jamison too impressed.

____

”Um...there _might_ be?” Junkrat’s eyes widened and his sceptical look turned into suppressed frustration.

____

Pressing his lips together, he made a drastic gesture towards the place with his hand, waving it from right to left at a rapid speed. He was in utter disbelief how Mei seemed to be too optimistic for her own good: “Hooly Dooly, what a tuna can. Are they offerin’ seats _below_ the tables in here, once they’re profitin’ from a full house? Dependin’ on what _kind_ of person runs this thing, I wouldn’t even doubt it...”

____

”Oh, come on! Don’t be like that right from the getgo!” Mei persisted. “You’ll still be able to complain later, should it be like that further in. That isn’t even much of a problem, though. See?” she pointed towards a sign of recommended dishes on the menu, also stating that all offers could be ordered to take away. “If all else fails, we’ll simply take it with us and can give sitting by the fountain down below a try.”

____

With that being said, Mei had already disappeared behind the curtains.

____

Left alone with his thoughts, Jamison groaned upwards to the ceiling, before entering the restaurant: “Jus’ great. The fast food bloke for the last three minutes, before the ride home... _Marvellous_. Truly an unforgettable experience...”

____

Jamison could not deny that his stomach began to sting and growl. It complained for not being able to make do with little snacks and sweets forever - and Junkrat’s bad mood certainly did not help his case. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to give the restaurant a fair chance. His vision of what he and Mei _could_ have had, instead of what truly _was_ , was simply too strong for that, causing him to feel like the slightest inconveniences annoyed him to no end.

____

In order to get inside, he already had to duck through the entrance. Mei had waited for him, though. Despite the overcrowded situation, she was still in cheerful spirits. The guests, who had gotten seated so far, seemed to join her in that.

____

Mei and Junkrat found themselves surrounded by the contrary of what had come to be in the underground. Friendly faces, familiar topics and satisfied company could be spotted here, wherever they looked.

____

At a slow pace, they made their way further in - and had almost overlooked their waiter in the process.

____

”Hello!” it came from below in a quite elongated, almost whistling tone.

____

Junkrat was amazed to find a Torbjörn-sized lady, who called herself Oakley, somewhere around his knees. In his opinion, there was no name for this woman that could possibly be more suiting.

____

Her face seemed to be marked by deep wrinkles and wisdom, almost like a strong tree that had been around for hundreds of years and had come alive. Her wide smile and joy for life let her eyes disappear, like a couple of her teeth had done so, already. There she stood, with her black storm cloud curls beneath a hairnet and her velvet getup in red and violet, her hands crossed behind her curved back above her baggy trousers, almost like a good-natured, magical individual.

____

”Excuse me”, Mei began, after she had gotten on her knees to look the lady in the eye, “Is there any possibility to still get a table for two in your eatery?”. 

____

”Yes, yes, in ‘Magic Lamp’ we find space for everybody. Always. Come along, come along”, with her tiny, pattering steps, the small woman moved forward.

____

Wherever she had walked ahead with ten of them, Jamison had already caught up to her with two determined steps of his heavy boot.

____

He used her statement, in order to assure his own assumptions immediately: “Roight, shall that mean yer willin’ to move heaven and hell to squish someone in at the very last second? Even in the kitchen, as a so-called...‘VIP-area’?”

____

”Gosh, Jamison!” Mei could not believe that he dared to accuse their friendly reception of an utter rip-off.

____

Nevertheless, their leader did not get worked up over it. She was well aware of her good intentions and thus had zero interest in letting someone else talk her out of them: “No, no. That can’t happen. Dining area is dining area. Kitchen is kitchen. What would guests want in kitchen? Everything’s so fast. So much steam”, she fanned away the imaginary steam with her arms, “So much noise, too. Not good. Not good at all.”

____

Oakley kept shaking her head, until the three of them had reached a staircase. Finding no trace of ill-intent in the old lady’s explanation whatsoever, Mei fired a “Told you so!”-look at Jamison. He, however, did not even notice it, carefully eyeing the small guide and hanging on her every word.

____

”We only think...who comes into ‘Magic Lamp’ wants service. So we serve. You’re hungry, we take your hunger. It’s our job”, Oakley continued and shrugged, the matter being self-explanatory to her, “When nobody takes you, you always can come to ‘Magic Lamp’. We find solutions. Yes, yes. As long as you leave diner standing for us, we’ll have table for you.

____

” _Okay. Take all ye can get at any price. Simple business deal, then. Hidden by some hollow oath of acceptance and care as one true nature behind it and allodat garb. Nothin’ but the usual_ ”, Jamison thought, instead, talking himself into believing that he had seen right through her.

____

In a sudden, Oakley waved at someone at the other end of the room. Mei joined repeated the kind gesture, while even the friendly stranger was not safe from Junkrat’s sceptical look.

____

A tall, rounded man towered behind the transparent counter and waved right back at them. His burly arms polished plates with an amazing gentleness. His bald head shimmered between the lanterns. Also in his regard, a wide smile said it all, followed by small, dark eyes, which were surrounded by bushy eyebrows and a majestically curved moustache.

____

”Have to remember right away”, Oakley explained to them, “That over there is my son Yusuf. Always takes orders. Menu can be found on table. Look at it and decide what you want for as long as you like. There’s no rush, there’s no rush.”

____

Junkrat could not help but snort on hearing that, instantly raising Mei’s lack of understanding for his smug grin. While she could not put her finger on what exactly his problem was with the guidance of such a considerate person like Oakley, Jamison found the old woman’s admitted patience of a _saint_ to be inappropriate and all the more amusing for such a demanding field of work.

____

”Once you decided, however, you go back to my son and order”, Oakley pointed towards Yusuf, in order to solidify him in her customers’ memory, “He takes notes. We cook. He brings. We still have a table. You can use it”, she explained, making a determined grab for the staircase rail, “Our secret emergency service - a balcony you can’t see from outside. Upwards, upwards!”

____

Thus, Oakley led the two up the wooden stairs, until they reached the secret spot. A strong pulling apart of the curtains revealed a table, surrounded by velvet-covered bench seats. Nicely-hidden in the dimmed lantern lights, this made it almost look like they were about to take a long journey inside a palanquin upon themselves. After a job well-done, the hostess left her customers to the enormous menu.

____

Insightful pictures, detailed descriptions and paragraphs for any sort of customer. They certainly had thought of everything here - at least that was Mei’s impression of things. She went through the offers step by step, until a sudden, surprising music caused her to turn away from her culinary studies.

____

Carefully pulling the curtain further to the side, she watched an enchanting jazz band, which earned its money between passersby right on the opposite side.

____

” _Smart move, indeed_ ”, Mei thought to herself, especially considering the surrounding circumstances. The rainy sky, revealing itself through the glass roof of the mall, brought a nightly and transit mood over the shops’ lights.

____

”Do you hear that?” she asked Junkrat, encouraging him to take a peek outside by her pointing nod, “Such a husky voice and that saxophone... What a great combination!” she rested her chin on her hands, letting her imagination unfold, “It almost makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a title sequence for a detective movie with that ambience.”

____

Jamison leaned back for a while, peeped over the frames of his shades, smiled for a second and returned to his menu all the more serious. Since he agreed with Mei’s impression, there was not much for him to add. Indeed, it _did_ give off a detective film vibe, reminding Junkrat all the more of what they could have had today in contrast to what came to be in the end. The music suited his shady mood, nourishing all the shadier thoughts in his mind.

____

There was somebody, who seemed to sit in his head, having way too much fun laughing at him. Junkrat could not shake that feeling off, the very moment he had stepped into this restaurant. It did its utmost to make him understand that he should not pride himself on Mei’s politeness. She was ready to stick around until the very end, because there were not many alternatives she could have considered - and because he had made an effort.

__An effort, not showing itself the way it should in the long run. With all the things that Mei usually did or _had_ to do, she _would_ find something, being of far greater importance and requiring a lot more of her dedication. Mei _would_ bury this day underneath it all, forget about it and never wish to repeat it - _and it would be his fault_._ _

____

With a loud bang, Junkrat slammed the menu onto the table surface, much to Mei’s shock, fixating his gaze onto it.

____

”Are you...in need of letting me know something?” Mei asked, hesitating to come closer to him.

____

”Nothin’ worthy of note, Mei...” he lied. Jamison did not even have to look at her for Mei to know. It was not like him to mumble out a response as quickly as possible, not letting any gesture or eye contact accompany it.

____

Realizing this made Mei all the more uncomfortable. When it came to Junkrat’s troubled mind, ‘nothing worthy of note’ could basically refer to _anything_ \- maybe even a dozen horrible things she did not dare to think of, yet.

____

Jamison was aware of his impact on her and equally sorry about it. However, she had to be satisfied with this half-hearted answer for now. In fact, he had rather hoped to scare the annoying voice in his head away, instead of shocking her - sadly to no effect.

____

” _Do I seriously wanna go as far as accusin’ Mei o’ that?_ ”, Junkrat thought, his facial expression continuously becoming sadder, “ _”Yer turnin that ol’ scatterbrain o’ yours into mush, Jamie! Nonsensical mush! Why would she stay against her will? Mei’s the last person to dedicate herself to somethin’ she ain’t havin’ fun with, ‘specially not if she can avoid it...but still..._ ”

____

Still, Jamison could not ever be certain of anything - and that for a lifetime, no matter how much he planned ahead. He could love certain things, even certain people, as much as he wanted. _Chaos always loved him more_ , pulling him back into its depths. By now, he had reached the all too disliked point again, which turned the uncertainties he swam in into sincere dismay. To Junkrat, it was the most uncomfortable and stressful state to be in.

____

He looked up, getting another glimpse at Mei. The same scare rushed through him, as if he were her reflection. Junkrat had no idea just for how long she had sat there, not daring to make another move.

____

Equally concerned, Jamison shook his head and decided to talk to her again: “I’ve settled on somethin’. Number forty-nine”, he pushed his menu towards her, circling in the dish of his favour with his index finger, “Leavin’ it at numbers for the order should make it easier.”

____

”A vegetarian tarte flambée?” Mei eyed the dish he had drawn her attention to, taking in all of the beauty the example photo had to offer, “That sure looks delicious!” she had barely heard his usual tone of voice and felt a lot calmer, already. However, even Mei struggled not to fall back into old patterns of behaviour. She tried her best to stay positive and not to be entirely intimidated by his bad-tempered signals. Perhaps, he felt just as insecure as she did.

____

Then, Junkrat decided to confess something to her: “I...don’t wanna hurt the animals...” He massaged the back of his neck, feeling all the more uneasy for knowing that his statement was not finished, yet, “That’s to say...for as long as it can be _avoided_...”

____

Scratching her nose, Mei reconsidered for a moment. She sensed that Jamison was utterly sorry for having been in dire situations before, where holding on to that wish of his would have come with _fatal_ consequences.

____

”Hmm...Would you prefer me joining you on that choice, if that’s the case?” she asked him, carefully eyeing the menu again.

____

”Um... _no_?” Junkrat replied in an instant and shrugged. There was no angry undertone or gesture coming with his response, not having a clue why Mei would even think this was necessary. “Since ye wouldn’t have reconsidered yer own choice, hadn’t I spilled that jus’ now, so... _thanks_ , but...no thanks?”

____

His startled answer left Mei gasping for breath without making a sound.

____

Realizing how fast his mouth had fired away words, without giving their impact a second thought, yet again, Junkrat took a deep breath and clenched his fist, until it trembled. He became scared of having to end the day on a bad note, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it - but he would keep trying, until he could not try any longer.

____

He made his best effort to calm Mei down, reached out for her hand, stroking it gently: “Mei, look... I’m sorry if this sounded way harsher than it should in yer ears, but... _really_ , you not getting anythin’ vegeterian on yer plate, only because I happen to go for it meself, won’t anger me one bit!”

____

”Are you _absolutely_ sure about that, though, Jamison?” she asked him, biting her lip and putting her other hand on his, returning the gentle strokes, “Or is this another thing ‘not worthy of note’, which _clearly_ troubles you?”

____

”Trust me, snowflake, _this_ definitely ain’t anythin’ worthy of note!” he kept shaking his head.

____

” _So, the other thing in contrast definitely is..._ ” Mei thought to herself, convinced that her earlier impression was right.

____

Finally being able to be honest with her, Junkrat felt the heaviness and annoying, sneering laughter in his head disappear. His face struck with worry, when he asked: “Hear me out on this one, will ya?”

____

With a quiet “Hmhm”, Mei braced herself for what was yet to come, still not looking any less concerned.

____

”Roight...Y’know...I-I mean don’t get me wrong...You carin’ about me and tryin’ to be as respectful and polite as possible as often as ye can is somethin’ I appreciate a great deal!” he assured her with a nod and a warm smile. “Mei, yer doin’ yer utmost to make me feel comfortable...but how could I ever feel fine, knowin’ you’d go outta yer way to adjust all choices and actions o’ yours to me an’ _me alone_ , no matter what ye think about the matter yourself? First, this ain’t like you one bit and second, I wouldn’t want that _ever_ to be the case...”

____

”I know and I’m all the more sorry about that...” Mei sighed and crossed her arms on the table, in order to rest her gloomy face on them.

____

Trying to comfort her, Junkrat reached out for her cheek with his prosthetic hand, to give it a gentle rub.

____

”I wasn’t shocked at what you said, by the way...” She continued, letting her look wander to the jazz musicians outside.

____

Jamison leaned himself back, looking rather puzzled in a sudden: “...Ye weren’t?”

____

Mei only answered him with a quiet sound of disagreement, before she explained herself: “I simply was uncertain of what to do next. You’re right. I _did_ mean to be respectful. Knowing I would get to order, heck, maybe even _enjoy_ , something that would sadden you by so many awful things you’d associate with it... I simply couldn’t stand that.”

____

”There’s a reason why ya could never upset me in that case, though... Care to know why?” he asked her calmly, raising a brow.

____

_Only keeping eye contact, Mei remained silent, waiting for him to reveal the answer._

__

”You’d never have the intention of gettin’ me riled up with whatja order in the first place, that’s why!” He made a demonstrative gesture with his prosthetic hand. “Mei, in all seriousness, what kind of mental image do ya think I have of ya?”

__

” _Apparently, a mental image you hold dear..._ ” She answered the question to herself in thought, letting all of what had happened today come to pass again in front of her inner eye. Noticing how Junkrat, at this very moment, was willing to do all the things which he had described to appreciate about her in return, showed her that even his odd distancing himself for a while had happened in well-meant thoughtfulness.

__

”Do ya seriously believe, I see ya as someone goin’ down there, thinkin to yerself: ‘Oh, hell yeah! He said he liked vegetarian eatin’ habits better - that’s the _perfect_ opportunity to order the bloodiest, juiciest steak they have in the house!’” Junkrat exaggerated the matter with a wide grin, throwing a hook of confidence into the air, followed by a loud splashing sound of the imagined steak that was slammed onto the table by the waiter.”

__

Mei raised her head and laughed, shaking it in disbelief at the completely and intentionally overblown presentation.

__

”However, that ain’t where it stops!” Jamison raised his index finger, letting it swing from side to side like a pendulum to his singsong. “What comes next is: ‘I’m gonna chew that killer meal down with me mouth wide open like a camel, so every smack will make Jamie beg for screw drivers bein’ turned on roight next to his ears, ‘cause even _that_ will feel more pleasant’”, he imitated the screw drivers, moving his hands in circles around his ears.

__

”My gosh, Jamison!” Mei kept laughing. “It’s fine, you can stop now!” 

__

”Oh, ya better believe that I _hope_ so!” Junkrat laughed in return, feeling all the lighter, “I beg yer pardon, Mei, yer leavin’ me no other choice, but to exaggerate things so you’ll stop worryin’...” For a moment, Jamison paused in consternation. Realizing how this had not been all he had to do, in order to help Mei, he added: “I’m also sorry that I didn’t make it an easy thing to do by how I behaved in here...”

__

”It really wasn’t, but I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for it!” Mei agreed, raising herself up to sit properly again. “I didn’t mean to dig deeper into it, should you need your space.”

__

Junkrat kept nodding, pressing her hand: “For that alone, I’m very, _very_ thankful, already, snowflake. That’s the best ye could have done, even when it was demanding for both of us...Ye’d rather have an end to it with a relief from shock, rather than a shock that finds no end in relief _whatsoever_ , don’tja?”

__

”That much is true”, Mei agreed and stressed her answer, her eyes widening from several striking memories that proved this point. She tried to distract herself from those as quickly as they had returned, however: “What I was mainly concerned about was whether I’ve taken the right measures at all the right opportunities or not...”

__

”I’m sure you succeeded with that!” Jamison reassured her. “It’s like I told you beforehand: Go find somethin’ you’ll be sure to enjoy!”

__

Hearing that, Mei could not help but give him a sceptical look: “You still did not seem all too happy about coming here, though...”

__

”Yeah, I’m not gonna deny that...” Junkrat grit his teeth with a feeling of guilt. “That wasn’t the place’s fault...” 

__

Seeing Mei’s eyes peek over her spectacle frames with raised eyebrows, giving him a questioning signal, Jamison knew that there was no way back.

__

He had to get started on defusing himself: “It was more a case of...bein’ out of sorts...I-I mean... _I’m_...out of sorts...”

__

”Can I _please_ ask you something, just out of curiosity - with no ill intent?” Mei phrased it as carefully as she could.

__

”Sure!” he responded in a calm tone.

__

”Why...can’t you just follow your own advice, Jamison? Why do you have no problem with helping _me_ , once I try to bottle my worries up, when you’re doing the very same thing?”

__

”Because, if there was anythin’ I wanted to avoid _at all costs_ , it was screamin’ at you again, for bein’ angry at no one but meself”, he answered in an instant, “I may be fast at slippin’ up, but that makes me a fast _learner_ , too... I had to shut me trap and calm down first, before I’d fire up our talk with things that wouldn’t get us _anywhere_...”

__

Seeing how Mei’s facial features loosened up in relief to know the truth, forming into an expression of astonishment, was one of the most unshackling feelings Junkrat had ever experienced.

__

Indeed, not only was she positively surprised, but _proud_ of him for such a considerate intention, which proved to do _both_ of them good in the end.

__

”...Thank you, Jamison... Thank you so much for telling me this and for soldiering on through it, even when it was difficult...” she smiled all the wider, knowing things would continue to get better from here, “Would you...let me offer you my help in making you feel better, by talking it all out, while we wait later? I won’t force you to tell me anything you wouldn’t want me to, but...if there’s something you always meant to free yourself from, I’m here for you and shall see what I can do!”

__

Her touching offer felt heartwarming to Junkrat. In this very moment, he witnessed a side of Mei, which he remembered as one of her _most beautiful_ ones.

__

”We’ll get there, luv... Little by little”, he agreed to it, giving her a gentle pat on her hand, “However, it’s about time yer treatin’ yerself with somethin’ great! Take all the time ye need makin’ yer choice, won’tja?” Jamison let his thumb point backwards over his shoulder, in the direction of the staircase. “If this whole wanderin’ ‘round hasn’t made ya hungry yet, I bet me RIP-tire that those worries have done the job. I’ll wait for ya as long as it takes - and again: Make _yerself_ happy, if ye really wanna make me happy, Mei.”

__

Faster than he could even realize it, it had already happened.

__

Mei had stood up and walked towards him.

__

Almost paralysed, as she wrapped her warm arms around him and nudged his cheek with hers, Jamison’s jaw dropped. He could not react, let alone _believe_ , that she had considered him worthy of her tender, loving embrace. Even his empty stomach seemed to agree, letting out a rumbling noise, which Jamison could only understand as a deep-toned “ _Woah_ ”.

__

” _...You’re getting there_ ”, she whispered into his ear, sending chills down his spine. Mei kept nudging him and rubbing his upper arms affectionately, until she stepped back and said: “We also haven’t drunk anything in a while... I saw that they offer ‘Zap-A-Geck’ here, too... Is this something for you? Do I remember that correctly?”

__

“Oh, I’ll _gladly_ have that again! One heck of a sweet drop!” Jamison responded, still with a flustered smile from the pleasant, tingling sensation he experienced.

__

”Fingers crossed that it will be good!” Mei cheered, adding the suiting gesture.

__

Jamison, however, needed no further encouragement: “It _will_ be! After all, you’ve been trustin’ yer gut”, seeing her return a shy giggling, he made another reach for her cheek. “Cheers, Mei... Cheers for bein’ yer carin’, optimistic, understanding and persistent self!”

__

”Right back at you, Jamison”, Mei replied in a gentle tone, unwilling to let Jamison’s own efforts go unnoticed. “Through the most ideal circumstances, we harvest what we sow.”

__

They intertwined their fingers, letting their hands sway slowly from side to side.

__

For a second, Jamison looked downwards, wishing to make a start on telling Mei more things he had kept to himself until now. Regaining eye contact with her, she noticed Junkrat’s tone of voice becoming lower, more serious - perhaps even warmer: “This...this roight here, is ‘xactly why I’ve grown to like you... I could never have grown to like ya as much as I do, had ye been nothin’ but a spineless yes-sayer and lived yer life like a flag in the wind”, once more, he pressed her hands and took a deep breath, “I like you, for all that makes ya be yer _very own person_ , Mei...and for so many things ‘longside of it that I could never be...”

__

On that notion, Mei was unable to say anything at all. Even though she could not move, it felt like she became weightless - she finally understood, where Junkrat’s nickname for her came from.

__

Jamison was quite as unbelieving of what he had just dared to say.

__

They both kept looking at each other, their lips preparing to respond, but uncertain of what to follow up with, their eyes blinking in anticipation above their blushing cheeks.

__

Still with an open mouth, Mei nodded, in order to assure herself that this had happened. Nevertheless, she took Junkrat’s earlier reasoning as exemplary advice and decided to use placing the orders as a chance and time to distance herself and think.

__

”I promise, I won’t take a minute longer than necessary!” she finally responded. “We’ll take on what has been on your mind... _everything_ of it.”

__

Reading the implicit signs, Junkrat understood, gently let her hands slip out of his and let her make her way to Yusuf downstairs.

__

__

The moment she disappeared, Jamison let himself sink down on his bench seat with a long sigh. He was ready to give Mei all the time she needed to take in what he just had hinted at, not to mention all of what he still meant to let her know - but it was too late. There was no getting out of it now. Junkrat had thrown the first stone down the hill, only waiting for the landslide to follow. He could be sure of her addressing this matter at _some_ point.

__

However, other matters demanded confrontation, too. With Mei gone, Jamison could sense his thoughts pulling him back to a place that he had wished to never return to. He could feel the drying, throat-stinging, dusty wind and the blazing sun of the dead lands around him, without even moving an inch. Pulling him back _there_ was all too easy for his conscience to do - because too many scores still had to be settled, in order to stop it.

_\---------------_

In the meantime, Mei had gotten to know the old lady’s son and placed her order. The giant’s loud voice sent the message over to the kitchen.

__

Already getting the drinks sorted, he turned to Mei once more: “Thanks so much for your order. Should take three-quarters of an hour to get everything done, yes, yes. Still, anything to add from _companion_? Last chance for side dish?”

__

”Oh, no thank you, there is nothing to add. He belongs with me!” Mei put it bluntly.

__

Cheeky laughter was all she got in return. Yusuf only could repeat her statement, not getting a hold of himself: “ _He belongs with me!_ ”

__

”W-what? _No!_ ” Despite Mei’s swift objection, her conversation partner could not be convinced that she had wished to say something else. Indeed, she only meant to refer to the order, but had phrased it a little too ambiguous for her own good.

__

Seeing her blown-up, indignant puffer fish cheeks in front of him, Yusuf laughed even harder: “Certainly, certainly. Then we’re done! Come along, come along! I will bring drinks upstairs now. Then I’ll find out, ‘ _who belongs with you_ ’, hahahahahaha!”

__

The colossal sunshine stomped his way up the stairs in such a manner, that Mei believed ‘The Magic Lamp’ was about to collapse like a house of cards at any second. He yelled his overjoyed greeting all across the staircase, making Jamison’ jump back into the corner of his seat in shock.

__

Their host could not stop laughing: “All’s well, all’s well. No fear, only drinks coming. The lady first. Get seated”, he stepped aside to let Mei sit down, “Then, twice a ‘Zap-A-Geck’”, Yusuf managed to fill their glasses up to a perfect match, adding some ice cubes, “There you go, there you go!”

__

”I guess assuring everythin’ twice runs in the family”, Junkrat answered back.

__

Yusuf’s mighty stache twitched in wonder. For a moment, their host fell silent, holding on to the food tray.

__

”Not exactly”, he finally answered, still with a baffled expression, “It’s rather self-explanatory”, completely intentional, Yusuf smiled and pointed at Junkrat and Mei at the same time with the middle and index finger of his right hand, moving them towards each other multiple times, “After all, there’s _two_ of you!”

__

Mei caught up on it, making some space on the table by putting the menus away. She could not believe how Yusuf was still harping on about their misunderstanding, but she feared to get Junkrat’s attention by telling the waiter to quit it.

__

Jamison, however, only rested his face on his knuckles and snorted, imagining what Yusuf’s explanation implied for a soccer team or entire company teams, being welcomed into ‘The Magic Lamp’.

__

”Should you feel like getting more, always come down and say so. We can do everything”, again, Yusuf pointed towards Mei, “I already told lady here: Rest should be there in three-quarters of an hour. Enjoy and cheers! Ciao, ciao!”

__

Junkrat and Mei said their hearty goodbyes and turned towards the magenta-glowing bottles.

__

Carefully pulling her glass towards her, Mei looked at her companion and drank to the moment: “Well, then, cheers! Here’s to you, Jamison!”

__

”Here’s to you, _too_ , Mei...” he smiled back at her, still deep in thought and took a sip right away. Jamison considered it kind of her to favour good wishes for him, after all that had happened.

__

Feeling relieved at the sight of him enjoying his drink, Mei rested her head on her hands: “Oh, thank goodness! Something truly awful would have had to happen, in order for you to _not_ enjoy your ‘Zap-A-Geck’.”

__

Junkrat nodded, happy to know that Mei took this as a good sign. There was some truth in it. Jamison was glad, every single time he got to enjoy this blood orange soda with the frilled-lizard on the bottle. Unfortunately, he could not celebrate this rare chance today as much as he usually did.

__

Mei knew just as much that Junkrat was a person growing impatient at a fast pace, from the moment he had nothing to attend to. There _was_ a thought she could not free herself from - but if there was something she wished to avoid, it was feeling like she would prefer to vanish into thin air, because of her embarassment from jumping to conclusions that proved to be false. Therefore, Mei decided to discuss topics with Jamison that came easier to both of them for now - at least until he phrased the thoughts that would help her phrase hers. She swayed her head from side to side several times.

__

”Wouldja look at that! _Someone’s_ happy to have ordered! Why yer smilin’ to yerself like that, snowflake? Reeled in a good one?” Junkrat’s curious questions resounded in her ears.

__

It felt like such a relieving approach to her: “I ordered a few spaghetti-salmon-nests. They don’t look all that much different from field mouse nests.”

__

”With a lil bit o’ vivid imagination”, Jamison added, causing them both to laugh.

__

”Those are filled with eggs, salmon sauce, broccoli, cheese and salmon pieces”, Mei continued. 

__

The description in itself seemed tempting enough for Junkrat to let out a satisfied sigh, followed by nervous laughter and a begging gaze towards the staircase, hoping to see Yusuf reappear by the next blink of his eye.

__

Mei noticed the effect of her own anticipation in a flash, covering her mouth with her fingertips: “Gosh, poor you, I caused quite something there, haven’t I?”

__

”Yes...Yes ye did”, he admitted, “It sounds so promisin’ and it ain’t even mine!”

__

”I can’t blame you, though, I feel the same way”, she replied, “Haven’t gotten the chance to eat that in ages!”

__

A content smile came over his face, knowing that Mei could definitely look forward to it.

__

”Say, snowflake...” Junkrat folded his hands on the table, leaning himself towards her, “Would ya be okay with exchangin’ a few, small bites of testin’? I’ll gladly give ya some of me tarte flambée, as well!”

__

”I’d be happy to!” Mei agreed with an overjoyed expression “Naturally, I’ll get the salmon out for you. However, please force me to keep those ‘bites’ of your plate as small as possible.”

__

”Wouldn’tja wanna force _me_ , instead, though?” Junkrat objected with a knowing pout. “The last time I had a bite o’ Lúcio’s lunch baguette, the poor bloke was left with nothing but crust and toppin’ crumbs between his hands! My definition of ‘havin’ a bite’ might be jus’ as... _flexible_ as yours, Mei!”

__

She let out a roaring laugh, instantly apologizing, since she feared to have greatly disturbed other guests.

__

It’s true, though, I kid ye not!” Jamison insisted, grinning all the wider. “Don’t feel bad askin’ for more, if ye like it! There’s no way yer robbin’ me ol’ nervous, microscopic stomach of what it needs - in fact, it’s better to not let it get carried away...”

__

Knowing exactly _what_ in his past had caused this pendulum from being overly nervous with food to blooming up in the enjoyment of it, once he was _not_ obliged to make do with only a few of the essentials over days for a change, Mei gave him a concerned look.

__

Nevertheless, Jamison got a hold of her hand, pressing it affectionately, and let a mouse whistle follow: “Luv, it’s _alright_ ”, he felt a lot more comfortable calling her that, having noticed that she did not reject it, “Nothin’ but good ol’ makin’ it through the ‘it-comes-naturallies’ that don’t happen to come oh so naturally no more, nowadays... A _classic_ for both of us, roight?”

__

”True, true...” Mei admitted, exchanging a tender look with him. “As long as we’re keeping even ground, I’m fine with it - just like with you asking for more, should you ever feel like it.” 

__

”Sounds good to me...but Mei, yer feelin’ alright with me clearin’ something up from earlier?” seeing her startled eyes widen, Junkrat clarified his matter immediately, “About me dish preference, I mean.”

__

Making a reach for her soda, she could only pause and let a slight, shy “Oh!” follow. Mei was well aware that both of them would have quite some ‘clearing up’ to do in the near future, if not even today - and Junkrat seemed to be just as knowing and cautious about it as her.

__

”Well...fire away...and again: _Anything_ on your mind, if that’s not too much to ask for”, taking a sip of her drink, Mei was ready for whatever should come her way.

__

”Roight...” Junkrat fixated his gaze onto the table, taking a deep breath, “What I meant to say is... Mei, yer eating habits have their _reasons_ , as much as mine have theirs... I think that counts for everybody, though, which is why I’m absolutely fine with having y’all eat whatever ye fancy, even when I’m around!”

__

Mei was already beginning to gasp for air for an immediate objection to make. Seeing how she hesitated, Junkrat responded with a calm nod, knowing that she remembered something that felt like a striking contradiction.

__

With an encouraging gesture of his hand, he pointed towards Mei, letting her voice her thoughts: “Wouldn’t you rather say, you are fine with _most_ things, though? Back when we were travelling together, I think you made it rather _clear_ that you don’t want to see anything coming from pigs in your bowl, Jamison...”

__

”That’s true, I said as much, snowflake. Ye didn’t get to the _entirety_ of me rule back then, however”, Junkrat kindly corrected her, “Roadie and I said, there’s no way a pig is sacrificed for our sake _there_. We set up the camp, we set up the rules. Whatever ye choose to do _outside_ of it is fine by me.”

__

”So, _that’s_ the reason why you still offer your help for barbecues every now and then?” Mei felt like she was able to put all the pieces together now.

__

Junkrat rounded his lips and replied: “Put it this way, I’d have no problem helpin’ ya out with making that fish yer about to eat today the best there is, even when I would prefer to stuff meself with somethin’ else”, he let the ice cubes in his glass ring, moving his hand in a circle and thinking of an even more striking example, “Perhaps, this makes it clearer... Me good ol’ Roadie is so close to me heart, I could never, _ever_ , dare to show him the greatest disrespect of ‘em all and feast on a pig in front o’ his tired eyes. The same thought won’t cause me to pick up Reinhardt’s dearly-beloved currywurst and throw it over a castle wall the next time we’re on a hiking trip, either, though... Ye wanna know why?”

__

She only let out a subtle sound of agreement, while taking another sip of her drink, wishing for him to continue.

__

”’Cause no matter how different their views on this are, both of ‘em have earned enough of my respect, so I can respect their _choices_ in return”, he paused, giving his conviction the emphasis he thought it deserved, “Ye can give people advice, thoughts and sparklin’ conversations all they want... In the end, our next steps ain’t nothin’ but the actions we consider to be the best to take at a some point in time...and there’s no way I’ll let anyone be in charge of how I s’posedly should live me life, ‘xcept for _myself_... “ he stressed his conclusion through an all the more serious expression. “I couldn’t claim this way o’ thinkin’ for me that easily, wouldn’t I let anyone else take that kind of direction, now would I, Mei?”

__

Remaining silent for quite a while, Mei let everything he just had said sink in: “...That is... I mean... _Wow_ , that’s such an... all-embracing, thoughtful and reasonable way to look at it...” she kept hesitating, in hopes to not make it sound too exaggerated. Jamison’s touched smile reassured her that this was not the case, though. Laughing nervously, Mei shook her head and carried on: “I’m so sorry! You probably expected more from me, when you talk about something so meaningful, but...not gonna lie, I’m _impressed_!”

__

Junkrat emptied his glass with another sip and asked : “You are? Such things have been goin’ without sayin’ for me, ever since I was small...” In a sudden, he stopped talking to look up to the ceiling. Jamison seemed to repeat the exact choice of words in his head, before he let Mei know with a confident nod: “It ain’t about the substance, but whatja choose to _do_ with it! Heh... At least...it’s only the conviction I _grew up_ with...”

__

That made Mei’s eyes flare up in great interest. Remembering the times of their shared travels, Mei had never remembered Jamison to be so approachable, when it came to sharing details about his past. As frightening as Junkertown was by the fact that such a dismal place had come into existence to begin with, it had become an outstanding example of humanity’s resistance against climate extremities and communal faults alike.

__

Seeing how their conversation had come into a great flow once more, Mei took her chance to press him further on the topic: “Hey... If it’s alright with you...would you like to tell me some more about it? How...things have been for you, before you crossed the sea, making it all the way here, for the very first time?”

__

Jamison froze on the spot. The only movement coming from him, which Mei could barely spot, was a preparing gulp, sliding down his throat.

__

”O-of course, there’s no need to go for it, if this is only doing you more harm than good!” She reminded him, in fear of asking too much of him. “It’s only my genuine interest. I don’t mean to be a bother. Naturally, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t _want_ to tell me...”

__

What happened next to her conversation partner alarmed Mei. She was all too used to what she witnessed to _not_ proceed with utmost caution.

__

Mei had successfully lured Jamison’s most unsettling laughter out of its hiding place - a provoked, his gaze downwards-leading tittering to himself - while making _no sound_ whatsoever. It was the very same laughter those got to know, who falsely believed to have cornered him, for he was only getting started on showing them the worst he had to offer.

__

By now, it had not been any different from the first time Mei had met him. Junkrat spread himself all across his seating bench, cocked his head and gave her a crooked smile, along with a sarcastic glance. His voice was soaked with temper: “My, my... I don’t hafta tell ye anythin’ I don’t feel like tellin’ ya? Really now?” Junkrat tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “How about, ‘what I don’t feel like tellin’ ya’ being roight where it’s all _at_ , though? What then?”

__

Pouring in some more soda for the both of them to calm down, Mei regretted to have upset Jamison this much with her question. However, they both knew that addressing it was the _only_ way to come terms with what he was about to bring back to the surface.

__

”Anyhoo, ye got a long story comin’ yer way, snowflake...” Junkrat sighed, closed his eyes and began to massage his forehead with the help of his human hand. “Good choice, askin’ me about it, _before_ we get to eat, seriously...”

__

There was a long silence, coming between them. Mei could hear the musicians outside take their leave through the mumbling of the masses and clinking of dishes inside ‘The Magic Lamp’.

__

Once their eyes met again, she was certain that Junkrat’s question was directed at himself more than anyone one else: “So...yer ready for a few, small ‘ _letters home_ ’?”

__


End file.
